


Stop Running with Scissors.

by korinachan



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Happy Ending, Romance, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2018-12-12 16:25:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 121,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11740770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/korinachan/pseuds/korinachan
Summary: Let us screw with the timeline a bit and create a different universe. Marco has his encounter with Heckapoo, the forger of scissors, way earlier than it should happen.





	1. The Events Have Changed.

It was Friday afternoon on Echo Creek. School was over for the week which meant Star and Marco had all the weekend to go on adventures around town. Well, they would, if the weather wasn’t against them that day. Strong winds and rain were hitting the area hard locking the two of them inside for the rest of the day.

Marco was enjoying lunch on his bed and Star was busy with training at the moment. Soon enough, the laser puppies entered Marco’s room they all wanted to go on a walk. Taking a quick look outside, Marco realized that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, but maybe... He got up and went directly to Star’s room. As soon as he walked inside. Marco had to dodge a blast coming his way. “Star! Careful with the blasts there, almost blew my head off.”

It didn’t help, Star was so into her training that she had completely blocked out the rest of the world aside from her targets, and her trainer. Glossarick flew around the room with several magic targets floating around him. It was him that noticed Marco and he stopped moving around to address him. “What do you…” As he stopped, Star managed to hit him with a blast right in his forehead gem, which reflected the blast away from him. Glossarick was unmoved by this. “Princess, I told you that the objective of target practice is hitting the targets, not me.”

Coming back to reality thanks to his words. “Well, why are you in the middle of all the targets then?”

“I already explain it to you. Hitting what you want is one thing, avoid hitting what you don’t want is way more important.” He made the targets disappear and approached Marco. “Now, boy, what do you need? And say it quick you’re holding up training.”

It was weird seeing Star so worked up about training if Marco didn’t know what triggered this. Just earlier this week, Glossarick hid in a donut box and refused to get out, even when the book, himself, and Star were in trouble thanks to Ludo. It was understandable that Star would begin to take her training seriously for a while, but Marco wasn’t worried, by next week Star would return to her usual self.

“Actually, I wanted to borrow your scissors, Star.” He brushed away Glossarick’s rudeness and talked only to Star.

Star thought that was odd. Marco was never keen to go around dimensions, and even when he did, he was always scared to death every second. “What do you need…”

“Done.” Glossarick interrupted the princess and pulled out the scissors from her nightstand, handing them to the boy. “What kind of trouble could a teenage boy like you get into anyway?”

“HEY!” He was ready to argue but the blue man pushed him out of the room.

Star just gave him a disapproving look. “What? Star, you finally began taking your training seriously, I’m not going to waste my time on something so unimportant.” This didn’t diminish her disapproval.

“He is still my bestie Glossarick. I can’t push him away like that, neither can you.” She sighed a little, pledging to spend some time with Marco to say sorry about this. “Let’s just keep going.” And they did just that and planned to for the rest of the day.

It wasn’t till a few minutes later, ten or so, give or take, that they were again interrupted, but not by Marco. A normal looking man had entered Star’s room with his dog at hand telling them how confusing this supposed dog park was.

Glossarick just sighed at what this meant. “Earth boy messed up, again. Let’s go check what’s the damage.” Walking the man back to where he came from was easy. Still, what truly surprised Glossarick was the red portal that was floating in the middle of Marco’s room alongside several other normal portals. He knew what that meant and who they would have to deal with.

“Star, have you met Heckapoo before?” Maybe this could be an important learning experience for the young princess.

“No… Who is she?” She hasn’t even heard that name before, much less met the lady it belongs to.

“The forger of dimensional scissors and part of the Magic Council. I imagine, Marco, open up several portals at the same time and that must have gotten her attention… Hope she hasn’t kill Marco, now that I think about it.” He knew the girl, her temper, and how much she liked playing with mortals. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“KILL HIM!?” His words terrified Star enough for her to jump into the red portal without hesitation.

“Wait, princess!” And Glossarick followed behind her.

It didn’t take them long to find Heckapoo’s home, and even less for Star to stomp inside. “Princess! You can’t go around kicking people’s doors open like that.”

It was there when they heard a male voice shouting at their direction. “Star?!” That man quickly walked over to them and hugged Star, with the princess pushing him away and pointing her magic wand as to keep him at bay. It was when the man revealed himself to be Marco that both visitors got, extremely, surprised.

It was Glossarick that noticed Heckapoo standing by the couch and promptly went towards her. “Lady Heckapoo, would you care explaining to us what happened here?”

“Well, Marco here took one of my challenges some sixteen years ago and just now manage to pass it.” This surprised Glossarick, to say the least, but Marco collaborated her story by showing them his own dimensional scissors.

“But he only left for, like, eight minutes. What happened?” Star’s words took Marco by surprise. After Heckapoo explained the time difference between dimensions Star added. “But, that’s ok then. You haven’t missed anything back on Earth!” But she wasn’t ready for what came next.

“Star, I’m sorry to tell you but, I’m not coming back.” This almost broke Star’s heart. Marco couldn’t be saying this, they were friends, best friends. To part ways like this was unacceptable to her.

“In that case. Can I keep all of your stuff, room, and that half eaten hamburger?” Star pushed Glossarick out of the picture, shutting him up.

“You can’t do that Marco! What about your friends, your parents… what about me?” Her words hit him hard. It was his whole life he was planning on leaving. He had already decided this, but having Star here reminded him of all the good times he spent with her on Earth.

Marco shot Heckapoo and confused stare. “Don’t look at me, man. You have your scissors now, you’re free to visit anytime.” So the decision was easy then.

Marco decided to go back to Earth with Star and Glossarick. The three of them say goodbye to the white skinned girl and Marco’s dragon cycle. As soon as they went back to his room, Marco went back to his usual fourteen-year-old self. The change pained him but Star found it hilarious.

“Well, boy, sure hope you learned your lesson. Now, keep those scissors nearby and don’t lose them.” Glossarick began to retreat back to Star’s room, but Marco stopped him in his tracks.

“Don’t you have something else to say?” Marco wasn’t going to let him go away without apologizing for what he said before.

“Boy, don’t think just because you won those scissors you’re some kind of great knight. You haven’t even grown a bit since you left.” With that last note, he flew out of the room, leaving a fuming Marco with Star to calm him down.

“C’mon, Marco, you know how he is.” This didn’t calm him down a bit, and Star noticed it. “If it makes you feel any better. I always thought you were awesome, even before the scissors.” These words caught his attention.

Looking shy right now. “You… you think so, Star?”

The girl hugged him before answering back. “Of course I do… thanks for coming back, by the way.”

After chuckling a bit. “I couldn’t leave my best friend behind, could I?” They both smile at his words and Star excuse herself, she needed to go back to training.

After leaving, Marco needed to do some readjusting. Coming back to his normal, not so boring, life on Earth may be difficult after all those years, but he knew he wasn’t alone on this. He decided to walk the puppies the old fashion way, maybe a walk around the old neighborhood would help jog his memories.

A week later. Marco was doing fine on the whole readjusting thing. He remembered all of his passwords, the names of the people he knew, and had managed to follow his weekly schedule perfectly. Aside from the little adventures that he had alongside Star, his life had finally gone back to normal.

Everything went back to normal, yet, something was missing. Marco wasn’t sure what ‘it’ truly was, but every time he was alone, or with had much free time on his hands, he felt that hole inside of him. It wasn’t his crush with Jackie, he kept his plan to ask her on a date, nor was it the dimension hopping, although, he felt more anxious and happy visiting different dimensions as of late.

It seemed that nothing could fill that emptiness inside of him, everything he did just appease it for small amounts of time. Maybe it was nothing, just some after effects of all those years roaming around those dangerous dimensions. 

Right now, Star had invited him to her family reunion and he needed to get ready. Everything was weird, to say the least, but at the same time, familiar. Star’s family acted like any other family back on Earth the only difference was that they were Royals from a magical land, so their fights and arguments felt weirder to Marco, but they even had a table for the kids. How could they be so similar to Earth’s families yet so different? They even had an unusual way to settle their differences, a game of flags. It sounded simple enough, place your flag on top of the mountain, the catch was that the mountain was several hundreds of meters long and filled with treacherous terrain.

It was Star that pushed him to participate, he didn’t object, there was nothing else he could do as Star dragged him to the top of that mountain. In short words, it was a total war zone up there. Both sides began with the foul play rather quickly, with traps and weapons being used left to right. It was like they weren’t family but enemies set to destroy the other side. The rock slides, rain, and lava weren’t helpful while climbing the mountain at all, to say the least.

After Marco got separated from Star by the river of lava, and just a few meters from the top. He began to feel something he hadn’t felt in a while. Marco took a look around, the fighting, the lava, the screams, everything was chaos, and he began to smile. He was smiling at all the violence happening around him, and he began to shake right there, he was excited. Yes, until now he was scared of everything around him, and that fear hadn’t banished, but he now felt excited being there. Marco was ready to win this game of flags now.

Marco got up and picked up the closest sword he had nearby, that he could carry, and made his way to the top. He passed some, more like fought till he knocked them down, of Star’s family members on his way up, avoided the traps and other tricks the rest of them had placed on the way and managed to steal one of the flagpoles laying around. On his way to the top, he fashioned his own flag made out of his red hoodie and with no one else to stop him now, he placed his own flag at the top of the mountain, making him the decisive winner of the game.

He found himself on top of that mountain catching his breath and smiling proudly. His heart was beating so fast at the moment, and it wasn’t all thanks to the fighting and running he did. Marco knew how much he had enjoyed this challenge, he could fill that emptiness inside of him filling up right there. But maybe, he shouldn’t have done that. Looking down the mountain, he saw Star and her mother, and Star was clearly angry at him, maybe he interrupted something important there.

After going back down, he apologized to Star’s mother and family members and excuse himself to go back to Earth, Star following behind. 

Once they were back in Star’s room. “Thanks, Marco, no, really, thanks for all of that.” It was obvious how angry she was at Marco back there.

“I’m sorry, Star, but I thought you wanted to win.” Star quickly remembered how Marco wasn’t there to hear the speech she gave to her mother.

“I did, but then, after seeing all the chaos back there, I forgot about all that, and my mother was about to accept me into the grown up table, but you had to go and ruin everything. She thought I was just stalling for time so that you could sneak up and win the game.” Marco assumed that Star didn’t saw him fighting back on the mountain, nor how happy he was while doing it.

Marco let up a little sigh. “I’m sorry, Star, I don’t know what got into me there.” He shot the biggest puppy dog eyes he had towards Star.

Star just looked away and answered. “Don’t worry. Now I’m going to train for a bit in my room.” With that last note, Star went to look for Glossarick and Marco excused himself.

As soon as he entered his room. Marco noticed he was still shaking about all that happened, but it wasn’t for the fear nor the shock he felt back there. He was still excited about what happened. Giving it a quick thought, he realized this was different from how he felt when out dimension hopping. Those were fun and all, but this was way more than that. He felt thrilled about all of this, the only thing he regretted was how fast it ended.

He quickly thought of the time he spent chasing Heckapoo. That time was filled with this kind of moments along with some boring ones, but mostly the exciting, life threatening moments, and he missed all of them. He had his own dimensional scissors now, he could go around all dimensions and get all the thrills he wanted. Then, he thought about Star, he couldn’t just drag her around that kind of adventures and risk getting her hurt, or worse yet, killed.

Marco then pulled out his scissors and inspected them for a second. “Well, she did tell me I could visit anytime.” Afterward, he opened up a portal and crossed it. He was going to need someone that knew the infinite dimensions better than him. Who knows, maybe she’s up for some questing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, my second fanfic. I hope people enjoy it way more than the first one.


	2. The Secret Girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically a retelling of The Sleepover with an extra guest.

Some days after Star’s family reunion. She had begun to slack on her training again, which surprised no one, to be honest. But it gave her extra time to notice how weird things had gotten with Marco. They still hung around from time to time, but even when they were together she felt distant from Marco, like, his whole attention wasn’t at the moment but busy with something else in his life.

What could it be? It wasn’t school because he would be pestering her about it too. It couldn’t be karate either, he seemed more than happy every time he came back from practice. Jackie perhaps? But he didn’t look down about it like usual, besides, the sleepover next week may solve that part of his problems, maybe.

Well, if she didn’t know what may be bothering him, what did she know for sure? First of all, Marco wasn’t feeling sad. She often got a glimpse of him smiling or laughing out of nowhere, usually while or after checking his phone. Then it was the obvious excitement he showed every day after school, granted, Star always felt happy at the end of school, but because she couldn’t wait to go out dimension hopping or to hang out with her friends. Marco’s excitement was different, like, he couldn’t wait to get home and if the two of them didn’t have plans for the rest of the day, she would barely see him until nighttime when they did homework together. In fact, he barely ate dinner at home, preferring to eat outside more often, according to him.

This looked like a work for her secret plan, ask him about it. The two of them are best friends and is not like Marco would be doing something shady. It’s decided then, next time the two of them see each other she would lay her doubts on the table.

Just after that thought, Marco entered her room carrying two take out boxes and some soft drinks. “Hey, Star, do you want to eat dinner with me? I brought Goblin Dogs.” His words were collaborated by the logo plaster on the boxes.

“Hell yeah, I want one.” The two of them sat down on the floor and began eating. Still, something about this felt weird for Star. “Didn’t know you could get Goblin Dogs as take-out, just how long were you in line?”

“That’s the awesome part. I didn’t have to wait in line. The only thing I did was pay the goblin a small fortune and he was happy to comply.” Now, this was suspicious. It was always up to Marco to pay for everything on Earth, and sometimes outside of Earth, as Star didn’t have any money, but how did he get all this money to pay for everything, let alone however much that goblin asked of him, always puzzle Star.

“And how did you get the money for that?” She shot him a huge smile to press for answers, she wanted Marco to know she had caught him red handed.

Now, Marco wasn’t bothered about telling the truth, but he made a promise. Good luck he had a lie prepared. “Well, this is embarrassing.” Marco promptly took out a toy catalog from his pocket and show it to Star. The open page showed a line of toys from Princess Marco. “Remember the princesses from Saint O’s? They made toys out of me and I receive a check every month.”

Star would have a harder time believing it if she didn’t have proof in her hands. “They are, surprisingly, cute.” That’s one doubt down. Star returned the catalog, but as she did that, a small receipt fell down. Star picked up and noticed something unusual, Marco paid for three Goblin Dogs. “Did the goblin overcharged you or something?” She showed the paper to Marco and he looked surprised.

“No, I didn’t go alone.” He couldn’t lie to Star, or more like, he didn’t want to lie to her, but he did make a promise to not say anything.

“What? You invited someone else to get Goblin Dogs, yet, you said nothing to me? We could have gone together with Pony Head like we did before.” Star wasn’t angry, just surprised. To top it all off, that person couldn’t be one of their mutual friends, she would have known if that was the case. Nonetheless, her words affected Marco and she noticed it. “Sorry if I sounded angry, I’m not, is just that, you have been a bit distant these last days. Is there something wrong?”

It was obvious that Star worried about him. Maybe Marco needed to open up a bit more, at least to appease his friend. “There’s nothing wrong going on Star, it’s just…” He began to panic and sweating, just trying to find a way to explain everything to her.

A quick idea flashed inside of Star’s mind. Marco had been going out more, he was excited about getting out of school, and his mood was way happier than ever. “Oh. My. God. You have a secret girlfriend!” She screamed in surprise and excitement.

Hearing those words made Marco blush like crazy and struggle to form sentences. He took a sip of his drink before continuing. “Is not like…” He couldn’t finish his sentence as Star got closer to him and threw away more questions.

“Who is she? Is she from Earth? No, she couldn’t be if you brought her to get Goblin Dogs. What is she? There’re thousands of species across dimensions, which one caught your attention?” She stopped only to take a sip of her drink and finish her food. “What color is her hair? Does she like music? When would I meet her?” After that question, Star gasped loudly. “When are you going to bring her home to meet your parents? Answer me, Marco!” It was the happiness and surprise that fuelled her questions.

Marco was overwhelmed at all of her questions. He waited for her to take another breath to intervene. “Star! She isn’t my girlfriend, ok?” He pushed her back before continuing. “We just go out from time to time, that’s it.” Star deflated for a moment.

“Wait, but you like her.” Again her comment made Marco blush. “Got you, but, I thought you had a crush on Jackie?”

Marco scratched the back of his head, yeah, Star caught him and he didn’t need to lie about this. “About Jackie? I don’t know, maybe I finally manage to get over her. And yes, I do like my new friend.” His face then lightened up, and Star noticed this.

“Aw, you smile just thinking about her, so cute.” She took a few steps back to give him some space and have a better talk. “Tell me about her?”

“She is awesome, to say the least. She is always up to go out and spend time together. She is funny, a great talker and a hell of a fighter.” That last part confused Star a bit, but hey, Marco is a huge martial arts fan. “But, I know she would never bother with an Earth boy like me.” He began to feel sad and just looked at the floor.

“Don’t say that Marco. I bet you’re as awesome as that girl, and if she can’t see this then she doesn’t deserve you.” They both smile while looking at each other. Her words did manage to lift his spirits.

“Well, at least I have a better chance with her than Jackie.” Marco quickly noticed the clock, it was getting awfully late and they had school tomorrow. “I think I should go to bed. Goodnight Star.” He began to pick up all the trash, but Star stopped him before he could get out.

“Hey, don’t you want to invite your lady friend to my sleepover next week?” It was weird to invite a total stranger to an event meant for only close friends, but this was Star, she could make friends with anyone in a matter of minutes. “Besides, I want to meet your future girlfriend.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way Star, but I don’t think that’s her style. Don’t worry though, I’ll make sure you two meet soon enough” With that last note Marco made his way out. Tomorrow was another school day and he already had a long day running around the dimensions.

After knowing what was happening with Marco. Star couldn’t help it but feel happy about the boy. Every time he came back from his dates with the mysterious girl, Star noticed how happy Marco looked and she smiled every time. She wasn’t bothered about their time together being cut short, but she did press him into presenting the girl to her. The mystery was eating her up from the inside. Star couldn’t explain it, she just felt anxious about meeting this new girl that had stolen Marco’s heart.

Marco even began to dress up for his dates. Every time Star caught him after he came back, he was sporting a black jacket and equally black pants, looking like a total bad boy. Star was a bit scared that this meant her friend was going to change for that girl, but those doubts disappeared soon enough. Marco may have a different aura going around him these few days, but Star knew this was still her best friend.

The two of them still got out and had their own Friendship Thursday. By now it was obvious that Marco wasn’t changing and their friendship wasn’t going to change either, so, what was bothering Star so much that she couldn’t shake it off? She was happy that her friend had a potential girlfriend that made him happy, even though she hadn’t met the girl in person, so why did all of this feel weird to her? Maybe it was something that Marco wasn’t telling her, apart from the identity of this girl. She knew Marco was hiding a bigger secret, she was sure of it.

The rest of the week passed, and Friday came quick enough. Not for Star though, she always felt bored to the soul while in class, and this day was no different. Even the teacher’s hamster was bored out of its mind, but maybe setting it free and scream on top of her lungs wasn’t a bright idea. Especially after all of that landed Star in detention and left Marco on hamster recovery duty.

To be honest, Star had a blast while in detention. It helped that Janna was a professional on killing time and that she had a chance to speak with her crush, Oscar. The girls had all that fun while never leaving school, yet, they never saw Marco while running around. He was supposed to be looking for Ms. Skullnick’s hamster, so they should at least see him once out there.

By the time the two of them were free to go, Star made a point to ask about her friend. “Diaz? He returned my pet few minutes after I sent him to get it. He is probably home by now.” And with that, Star and Janna walked together back home, keeping each other company.

It was obvious that Star was worried about Marco, even for Janna. “So, Star, what got you so down all of the sudden?”

Star let out a small sigh before answering. “It’s just, Marco has been worrying me these days.”

A bit confused at that sentence. “He looks like the same safe boy he’s always been, at least to me.”

“You see…” Eh, screw it, is not like Marco made her promise not to say anything. “Marco has been going out with a girl recently, but not here on Earth, and she isn’t a normal girl, I think. They go on dates across dimensions, but I had never met this mystery girl, nor does he ever talk about anything they do… Am I being paranoid?” Star knew she should be happy about Marco and his lady friend, but what demanded all this secrecy?

Janna put a helping hand on Star’s shoulder, and with the sweetest voice, she could muster said. “Star, I don’t buy any of it, well, I believe you’re worried about Marco, but I can’t picture him going on adventures with a hot babe by his side. Are you sure he isn’t making everything up?” For Janna, that was the only possible explanation.

Star got annoyed by her words. She trusted her friend with all her heart. “C’mon, Janna, you really think he would create a girl just to have an excuse to get out of the house to do anything else he could be doing?”

Thinking for a minute. “Ok, I’m going to admit to two things. That I don’t know the boy as much as you do, and that I know nothing about the multiverse. But all of this smells fishy to me, and let me tell you, I have a sixth sense about this kind of things.”

Star sighed once more and shot away all of Janna’s ideas. “Maybe I just miss spending time with him. We used to spend more time together before all of this. Yeah, that must be it, just me missing my best friend.”

Not one to pass on a chance to tease her friends, Janna spoke up. “Maybe you have a crush on the guy, and you’re just jealous of this ‘girl’.” She even made quotation marks in the air.

Janna’s words made Star jump a bit. “Janna! You too will miss your friend if he stopped spending time with you.”

Star’s light blush just made Janna smile even more. “Just saying, princess. Why don’t just ask Marco what’s going on?”

“I already did that and asked him to meet the girl too. He keeps saying he will present us, one day.” Star groaned at the frustration she felt. Why so many secrets with Marco? They never kept secrets from the other before, not counting her closet of secrets and diary.

“Maybe…” That idea sounded too juicy not to say it. “Nah, forget it.” But it may blow Star’s mind just hearing it, let alone thinking about it. Perhaps Marco is doing all of this to make Star jealous and catch her attention. It sounded like the dorkiest and most complicated idea for it, but it was so Marco, to be honest. As they arrived at Janna’s home. “Anyway, are we still up for the sleepover tomorrow?”

Star brushed away her doubts and answered. “Yeah, hope to see you there!” The girls hugged goodbye and Star made her way back home alone.

As soon as she arrived home, she was received by Mr. and Mrs. Diaz, which made her happy just seeing them. However, going upstairs to see her friend revealed that Marco hasn’t arrived from wherever he had run off this time, and guessing from the other times, he probably won’t be coming back till night time. Might as well prepare for the sleepover and train a bit, nothing else was interesting at the moment.

True to her guess. Marco arrived after dinner. He got ready for bed but made sure to stop with Star and greet her. “Hey, Star, sorry I didn’t wait for you after school. I know we always walk home together.”

Star was just done talking with Pony Head in order to confirm she would be here tomorrow. “Don’t worry, Janna kept me company. How was your date?”

Marco got red by her question. “It wasn’t a date, Star!” He managed to regain his composure before speaking up again. “And we had a good time, thanks for asking. I was going to ask, do you need anything for tomorrow?”

At least he remembered tomorrow was important for her. “I think we have everything we need. I even brought everything to make brownies.”

Marco felt relief by her words. “Still, I’ll be here for all of the morning if you need anything. I also needed to say, I won’t be here from the afternoon on. I have a compromise.”

She felt down about it but managed to hide it. “Hey, you can’t keep your girlfriend hanging like that, I get it.” Teasing Marco did cheer her up though.

Looking a bit annoyed. “Well, thanks for understanding, and good night.” With that, Marco walked towards his room.

Star’s cheer wasn’t long lived after that. Yes, the thing was going to be girls only, but she was sure no one would mind having Marco hang around with them. It was official now, she missed hanging around with her best friend, and the answer was obvious. She needed to befriend Marco’s girlfriend, that way, they could all hang out together and she wouldn’t need to miss Marco. She just needed to know how to do this, but now, she needed to rest, tomorrow was a big day.

The rest of the night passed, as did the following morning and afternoon. Which meant the sleepover was in full swing right now. Star couldn’t be happier to be with her friends tonight, and having her brownies ready for all of them to enjoy was the best.

After Star’s desserts went away, it was Janna that spoke up first. “So, Star, you managed to shake that information about Marco?”

Leave it to Janna to bring the worst possible topic at the worst possible time, but hey, maybe they could help. “Nah, the guy still doesn’t want to talk about it.” She received some confused and interested looks from the rest of the guests.

After giving them the abridged version of everything that had been going on with Marco as of late. It was Pony Head that spoke up first. “I don’t buy it.”

“That’s what I said!” And Janna was quick to follow up.

Star just groaned and Pony Head spoke up again. “It’s just, why would he feel the need to hide her from you? It smells of foul play here.”

“Maybe it’s someone you know?” Jackie had been a bit quiet after hearing all of it, but she did raise a good point. “I mean, maybe he knows you wouldn’t be fine with the two of them dating, and that’s why he doesn’t want you to meet her.”

All of the girls look pensive for a moment and conceded that Jackie had a good point there. “Got any enemies out there Star?” Starfan just said the first thing that came to mind.

Enemies, all of the people that came to mind that fit that description made her cringe to the bone at the thought of them dating Marco. “No way. And before you ask, I don’t have any other girls that I hate.”

With the best idea they had going down in flames. All of the girls thought for a moment about what Marco could be up to. Janna thought it was a good idea to bring up the idea she had yesterday, but before she could do that, they all heard music coming from upstairs. Puzzled at the sound, the girls made their way up to investigate. After walking up the stairs, the girls realized two things. The music was light jazz, and it was coming from Marco’s room.

Pressing their ears at the door. It was sure that he wasn’t alone, as some giggles could be heard from inside and half muffled by the piano music, and some of the laughs were obviously coming from a girl. Pony head and Janna got some huge smirks on their faces and signaled the rest of the girls to the hallway to speak freely.

“This is your chance, girl. He is in there with his lady friend, just burst in and present yourself.” That sounded exactly like something Pony Head would say, which made it even weirder that Janna was the one that said it.

“She is right, B-fly. He has it coming for leaving you in the dark like that. I say get back at him by blocking the hell out of that…” But Star didn’t give her a chance to continue.

“First of all! How are you so sure they are doing that in there?” She didn’t even bother hiding her angry tone.

“Well, it’s light jazz, and they are inside his room…” Starfan was the one to point out the obvious.

“Still! I’m not going to storm in there out of nowhere. He has a real chance with that girl, and I don’t want to ruin it.” Pony head thought for a second about Star’s words and quickly began to smile.

“Oh, I get it B-fly…” She began to walk back a few steps before continuing. “YOU, can’t go in there and ruin their mood.” Pony Head readied herself. “But I sure as hell can!” She began to charge directly at Marco’s door. Star tried to block her path with everything she could but to no avail. Pony Head managed to avoid all of her blasts and the rest of the girls had stepped out of her way as soon as she began charging.

Star could only stand there and witness, helplessly, how Pony Head rammed Marco’s door down and flew inside his room. All that could be heard coming from inside the room was. “WHAT THE HELL, PONY HEAD?!” It was Marco, understandingly, surprised, and the music had died down already. The rest of the girls ran inside and Star began to apologize.

“Sorry! We are sorry, Marco!” The girls had entered the room while covering their eyes, fearing the worst. All except Janna, that had already readied her phone to take pictures. “I’ll even fix your door, just don’t get angry with us.”

Leaving out a small sigh. “It’s fine, and why are you covering your eyes? You all look silly.”

Hearing Marco’s, Star, and the rest of the girls open up their eyes, slowly. They all noticed how shocked Pony Head was right now, like, her lower jaw was almost hitting the floor. Then there was Janna, who looked disappointed and intrigued at the same time, she had already put down her phone by now. Lastly, their attention was taken by Marco and his companion. “Heckapoo?!” It was Star that spoke up first.

She was met with a happy. “Hi, Star, how’s it going?” From the girl herself. She wasn’t wearing her usual yellow ball dress, but a more casual attire. A black sleeveless leather long coat and jeans, although the fiber of the pants didn’t look like that of usual jeans, underneath that coat she was wearing a plain white shirt and was also sporting some tough looking boots with metal plating.

“Aw, crap, I forgot today was your sleepover.” Marco wore the same clothes he wore while in Heckapoo’s dimension, just with a gray t-shirt under his jacket.

A bit awkward now. “Hey… what are you guys doing?” Star signaled at the instruments the two of them had. Marco with his electric piano, and Heckapoo on the sax, so that’s where the music came from.

“We ended our play date sooner than expected, so we decided to chill out on Earth.” The girl’s words made Marco blush a bit, which he masked, or at least tried to.

“Look, don’t worry about the door. We’ll leave you girls alone to your sleepover.” Marco began to pull out his scissors, ready to open a portal and leave the house to the girls. But Star wasn’t going to have any of that. She finally knew who was Marco’s mystery crush, time to become friends with her.

“Wait! Why don’t you two join us? It’ll be more fun this way.” Everybody was surprised at Star’s words. They may be ok including Marco, but Heckapoo was a complete stranger to most of them. Pony Head managed to snap out of her shocked confusion and whispered on Star’s ear.

“Girl, don’t think we want that girl around us, I mean, have you heard what they say about her?” Just after hearing Pony Head’s concerns. Star pulled her closer and made a little circle along with the rest of her guests, just speaking in whispers as to not be heard.

“Listen, we can’t pass this chance to get along with her. We have to convince Marco that we are fine with the two of them hanging together with us.” She just looked up to see if Marco or Heckapoo caught any word that she said. The two of them too were busy talking amongst themselves to notice. “Besides, if Marco vouches for her I have no objections.”

The girls gave it a quick thought. It was a good chance to pleased Star, help a friend, spend some time with an awesome warrior lady from another dimension, and probably make friends with one dangerous lady. All the girls had, at least, one of those reasons in mind when they accepted to include Heckapoo this night. They all nodded in agreement and Star smiled while turning to ask again. “So, what do you say?”

In all honesty, Marco wasn’t against the idea of spending the night with the girls. The problem was with Heckapoo, he was sure that this wasn’t something that she would like to partake in. “Sure, it will be fun.” Yeah, that took him by surprise, and his face showed clearly. “What? Marco, we go on a lot of dangerous trips out there. Let’s take it cool this night.” Wait, what was that about dangerous trips? Star was about to speak up, but Heckapoo beat her to the punch. “Although, I do need to change my clothes for something comfier, just wait for me.” And with that, she was gone. Leaving Marco and the girls alone there.

Marco wasn’t prepared for what came next. “How you two met?” He took a step back to get away from the girls. “How long had you been going out.” He tried answering one question just for it to be replaced by another. “Are you two going serious?” Ok, that needed to be answered. If only he could get the chance. “Think she would like hanging with us?” Ah, this was getting overwhelming. “Have you two even kiss yet?”

He just screamed and got the girls to shut up for a minute. “Ok, in no particular order. We have been going out for a few weeks. They aren’t dates or anything like that we just hang out for fun, so nothing serious at the moment. No, we haven’t kissed, yet, and she just told you she was fine spending time with all of us.” He managed to see Janna about to speak up, but he beat her to it. “And whatever you’re about to say, no, just, no.” This deflated Janna instantly.

Star was about to say something more, but Heckapoo came back right there. “Thanks for waiting girls. Look, I even brought my own pillow.” She was sporting a plain looking pair of black track pants, an equally dark strap shirt, and she was wearing white socks. Totally different from the last outfit she wore in front of them, and yes, she was carrying her own comfy pillow. “Aw, Marco, I thought you would play along too.” Marco gave her a confused look. “You know, change into your pajamas and everything, at least take your jacket and boots off.” They did look uncomfortable, especially for a sleepover.

Marco smiled shyly and scratched the back of his head. He did comply and took his shoes and jacket off, and left it at that. Heckapoo then laughed out loud and Marco followed suit with his own quieter laugh. “Ok then, let’s go to my room and keep the party going!” Star knew she was getting in the way of their flirting, and she also knew that they may take a while to move on if they leave them like that.

It was a fun night after that. They ate snacks and talked about everything they could think of. Marco and Heckapoo were lucky enough to have a taste of Star’s brownies. When the time of games came, it was Pony Head that brought up a mysterious cube to the middle of their circle. She explained that it was a game like truth and dare, but only with the truth part, and punishment if they failed to deliver. They were all up for it without objections, even Heckapoo and Marco.

The first question was easy, favorite color. Heckapoo was last on this round. “Red, duh.” She pointed at her own red hair. Still, the round didn’t pass without punishment. Simple tickles were the horrible punishment they faced, which quickly died down after Janna confessed that pink was her favorite color. Honestly, they were more fired up to keep going after that. The next question was about their real thoughts about Star’s brownies. Heckapoo sighed and then spoke up. “Sorry, Star, but they were horrible, sorry.” Star was surprised about it but was even more surprised when Marco agree with her. Well, at least the rest of her friends liked them, or at least she thought before the cube punished them and all of them had to come out clean about how horrible they were. But Star was a tough girl, she could take it.

After their second punishment. They all had enough about the game, especially knowing that the next punishment would be worse than twisting their bodies into horrible abominations. But the cube had other plans, they couldn’t escape till they answered the last question. Surprisingly, it was Marco that stood up to the evil cube, with Heckapoo following behind, but they quickly realized they weren’t alone right now and didn’t want to put the rest of the girls in danger. “I can try and portal us out of here if you want.” That was a neat idea from Heckapoo.

“No, let’s just get this over with, it’s just one more question, easy enough.” And Marco shot that idea down. He was confident enough that he would be able to tackle whatever came their way.

Last question, who do you have a crush on? And Marco’s heart stopped beating. He was regretting not running away when he had the chance. The round began and they were some surprising answers, like Pony Head admitting she likes herself or Janna having a crush on a dead writer. Some not so surprising, like Star’s crush on Oscar. When the time came for Marco to answer he just took a deep breath and spoke up, either that or punishment. “My crush is Heckapoo.” He looked down in embarrassment while signaling to the girl by his side.

“Ha! You have a crush on me!” Heckapoo chuckled loudly and punched Marco on the arm, playfully. 

The girls thought that was a bit harsh on the guy, and Marco’s face running redder after that confirm it. “Shut up, just tell us your crush and let's get this over with.”

Heckapoo didn’t say anything for a while. She just looked at Marco with a flirtatious smile on her face. It took a while for Marco to look up and notice that smile which made him jump back a bit. All of the girls noticed this and were anxious to hear what she had to say. She just leaned back and shrugged. “Well, if I have to be honest, and I do. I’ll say I do have a little crush on a boy from Earth that’s been following me around for the last weeks.” She then took Marco’s hand and held it tightly, sighing before finishing. “Yes, I have a crush on you, Marco, now, stop looking at me like that.” She gave him a little flick on the nose to snap him back to reality and the two of them couldn’t look at the other anymore, deciding to look away, both of them red faced now.

All the girls went ‘aw’ or giggle at her words and how cute the both of them looked right now. Except for Star, and she didn’t know why. Maybe because there was a crazy party game threatening with, possible, death at the moment, and being happy about her friend had gone down on her priority list by now. As long as this meant the game was finished. Which surprised the hell out of everyone when they heard the cube screaming that one of them lied and punishment began.

As soon as the lights went red and columns began to rise from the floor to attack them, Star readied her wand to fight back, but the first ones to jump to the offensive were Heckapoo followed by Marco. They both drop kicked the cube away from the group. Followed by Heckapoo opening a small portal to pull out a sword and throwing it at Marco. “Catch!” As soon as the sword left her hands she herself pulled out her scissors and a flame lit up above her head.

Doing exactly as told, Marco followed that with a quick unsheathing of his sword. They both prepared for the counterattack. The cube began raising more columns from the ceiling and walls, it also began to open up, showing several eyes and a mouth, and create magic energy to surround its body.

While avoiding the columns and the tackles that the cube threw their way, Marco managed to scream. “Star! Protect the girls, don’t let this thing hurt them!” She did as instructed and joined the group to keep them safe. She didn’t even have time to realized she should be the one fighting back with her magic.

In between Star helping the girls avoiding being crushed and having Marco and Heckapoo attack it at close range, the cube was totally overwhelmed by everything. It was when the girls took a bad turn and were about to be crushed by a falling column that Heckapoo’s clones manifested to get the girls out of the way. That small distraction was enough for the cube to lunged itself at Heckapoo, with Marco pushing her out of the way and his defense took the full force of its magic attack.

Composing herself, Heckapoo called in the clones and drew the Cube's attention, making it look away from Marco. Just then, Marco was helped up by one of the clones. They exchange a look and both of them smiled. “Let’s end this already.” Marco said full of determination and brushing the pain away. The clones managed to drive the cube to the middle of the room, and while it was busy dealing with Heckapoo’s attacks, Marco charged directly at it. Even when the cube floated up to avoid the attacks, they weren’t worried they knew what to do. On the last steps, a pair of clones readied themselves and acted as support for Marco to jump up. Taking it by surprise, Marco needed just one slice to split the cube into two. Making it shut off for good, and the whole room turned back to normal.

The fighting couple then high fived over their victory and began celebrating right there. It took them a few minutes to approach the, still scared, girls to see how were they doing. “Great game Pony Head, it even got exciting in the end.” All of them were surprised at how good Marco was taking all of this. “You girls aren’t hurt right?” That’s the more like it. Marco helped the girls up and see each one of them out. The sun had already risen for the look of it.

It was while Star and Marco said their goodbyes to their friends that Heckapoo threw in her own goodbyes. “Hey, girls, I had a ton of fun tonight. Hope we can do it again soon.” They all just smiled awkwardly and walked away.

The three of them walked inside and sat down in the living room. “Damn, Marco, why didn’t you tell me your Earth parties got this fun?”

“This was more of a special occasion actually. I’m glad you had fun H-poo.” The girl just giggled. They soon noticed Star sitting there, ignored. “Sorry if your sleepover got out of hand, by the way.”

Brushing all of it away. “Don’t worry, it’s like you said, it got really fun at the end.” Seeing the two of them sitting on the couch prompted her to ask. “Hey, why didn’t you tell me the two of them were hanging out together.”

“Oh! I was the one that asked him that. It’s not that I don’t like you or anything like that. It’s, just, every time I go out with Marco, I’m neglecting my work and duties, and if your mother, or Glossarick, were to find out…” Star then spoke up.

“Hey! You don’t need to worry about me. I’m no snitch.” They all laughed at her words and Star got a huge smile on her face. “With that decided, we should all hang out together. It’ll be fun seeing you in action again.”

“Yeah, we will see, I would also love for all of us to hang out.” Marco was ready to put the whole night away if it wasn’t for Heckapoo remembering another topic that needed to be brought up.

“Hey, Marco, be honest, did you lied back there?” That question made all of them blush up and Marco began to stutter.

“… No.” He said, more in a whisper than in full volume.

Heckapoo giggled a bit, got up, and open up a portal in the middle of the room. “Good, I was also being honest… bye.” With those last words, she made her way out and the portal closed up behind her.

Marco was dumbfounded by that, it took him a few seconds for her words to reached his brain, but when they did, he jumped up and hugged Star. “You heard that Star! She likes me!” And just hugged Star tightly. “Thank you so much for inviting her, I mean it.”

Star wanted to feel happy, but she just had a fight for her life a few minutes ago. That may be why she didn’t feel like smiling or wasn’t feeling happy at all. She just patted his back and said awkwardly. “Yeah, good for you Marco.” She then broke the hug and got up. “I’m going to hit the sack now. Goodnight.”

Marco noticed how down Star looked right now, which made him feel confused, to say the least. “Star?” She was the one that wanted to meet his crush and had been pushing him into asking her out. “Star!?” She just kept going upstairs and before she got out of sight. “Star Butterfly!” With that last note, the girl went inside her room, leaving a dumbfounded Marco alone in the living room.

Outside, the cut in two cube began to glow while in the garbage truck. “Yes, Marco Diaz has a crush on…” And just like that, the pieces got crushed alongside all the garbage.


	3. The Bounty Hunter.

Today was a quiet day. Star was hanging out with Janna in her foster home, and even Marco was there. He told them how Heckapoo was busy with work, she had neglected it for too long now, so he would have no plans for the next few days. Although, he wasn’t missing her that much, and he wanted to spend more time with Star, to begin with.

Right now, Marco was making some nachos for his friends while wearing his favorite ballerina shoes. As soon as he returned back to the living room, the girls were already making fun of his shoes. But soon enough the night took a turn for the weird. It turns out that the Quest Buy gift card that Star gave him for their six-month friendship-aversary will expire today at midnight, and Star couldn’t take him letting it go to waste. In all honesty, is not like he didn’t appreciate the gift, but he wasn’t an easy person to shop for, and the last time he went to Quest Buy, he almost died. But, dammit, he couldn’t say no to Star’s and her tears.

It was nine pm right now. They had until midnight for them to use that card, how difficult could it be to pick a present? Hours later, Marco hadn’t decided what to buy with that card. Maybe they could get an extension on it. Asking the sloth in customer service revealed that, not only, did the ‘friends till the end’ gift card couldn’t be extended, but that when the card expires, they will too.

Panicking now, Marco and Star began to run in between the aisles, just looking for something that caught Marco’s attention. He was thinking fast about what he wanted right now, but his train of thought was cut short by his gift card turning into a creature made entirely of lighting and magic, and declaring that he had only ten minutes to make a choice or the two of them will expire.

Running around the aisles didn’t help, Star’s screams didn’t help, and her spells didn’t have any effect on the gift card either, that constant countdown sure as hell wasn’t helping, but at least it couldn’t get any worse. Just then, a giant lizard with a metal arm and a purple gem on its left eye blocked their path. “Princesses, my name is Rasticore Chaosus Disastorvayne. Miss Heinous sent me. Prepare to die!”

After the assassin presented himself, the gift card said. “Five minutes until expiration.”

The two of them were cornered in between an assassin and a crazy magic gift card. This was it, Marco couldn’t take it anymore. He just wanted to spend some time with his best friend today and have a good time. Now he was about to die by the hands of two different assassins. This was enough to make him snap, he tackled the lizard assassin if Star’s blast didn’t injure the gift card he concluded that his attacks wouldn’t have any effect either.

Marco and Rasticore rolled on the floor, with Marco punching the assassin all the way. It wasn’t till the assassin managed to regain his footing that he shacked Marco off of him and threw him away. Landing safely, Marco reached inside his hoodie and pulled out… nothing. Damn, he forgot that he wasn’t wearing his black jacket. It quickly dawned on him that he was wearing his Earth clothes, a pair of ballerina shoes, and no weapons. He couldn’t be any less prepared to fight this assassin.

The giant lizard got the jump on him and managed to throw him into a glass display. Star watched as her friend went crazy on that giant lizard and how said lizard threw him directly at the jewelry department. She was dumbfounded, to say the least, but quickly regained her composure and ran to help her friend up, and the two of them hid deeper in the department.

“I’m sorry, Marco, if it wasn’t for me we wouldn’t be about to be killed right now.” Marco may have been a little harsh on her earlier, but he truly didn’t blame her for anything that happened. He knew that Star only did this because they are best friends, and he couldn’t be mad about it.

Now it was less than three minutes till expiration. “Let’s hug, Star so that when they found our charred bodies they’ll know we were best friends.” And they did just that, hugging while awaiting their expiration. Right there, as the two of them had finished making peace with one another, a sloth employee approached them.

“Wow, you two look like the closest of friends. You know what two best friends need the most? Friendship bracelets!” The female sloth showed them her selection of bracelets, which annoyed the two of them for ruining their moment.

“Listen, lady, we are about to get killed by TWO different things, so unless you have something to help us fight them off, no thank you.” Marco was more than done with this day, and with less than two minutes to exist, he wanted to spend that time with Star.

“Well, I don’t know about that, but I do have some battle bracelets.” She showed Marco a pair of bracelets. The strap was a normal black leather strap, but what really caught Marco’s attention was the amulet on the bracelets. A cross that looked like a small sword made of blue metal was visible on the two of them. “You put them on, think of a bladed weapon, and the amulet will grow in size and shape to fit that weapon.” The employee demonstrated by turning one of them amulets into a knife. “They are on sale right now, buy one get another one free.”

Thinking for a moment, Marco could only answer. “Can I get the sale if I pay with a gift card.” He signaled to the crazy gift card that was busy looking for them.

“Sure, just let me give you a bag.” The sloth was stopped by Marco.

“Thanks but I’ll be wearing them now.” He grabbed the bracelets and put them on, standing up to call the gift card. “I know what I want!” He stood up to show his two new bracelets, raising his fists up in the air for everybody to see, even the lizard assassin. The gift card approached the employee and turned back into its card shape so that the employee could swipe it with her machine.

Just as the transaction was completed. Rasticore jumped in front of Marco, but he was ready now. Marco imagined a pair of gladiuses and the bracelets responded to his thoughts by turning into said swords. Before comforting the assassin though, Marco looked back at his friend. “Star, I’m not going to let him harm you, I promise.”

Through Star’s eyes, he looked so cool right now. The assassin took him on his duel invitation and pulled out his chainsaw. It didn’t take long for them to start battling. Marco knew he couldn’t win on raw strength, so he didn’t even bother parrying attacks, he just dodged them. It helped him that his opponent was carrying a heavy chainsaw and could only attack in two patterns, vertical and horizontal. It was thanks to his speed that Marco was able to draw first blood, cutting the assassin on its right arm.

Inspecting its wound the assassin was quick to ask. “I could imagine Princess Star to be a fighter, but you?”

Thinking about those words for a moment. “You’re an assassin, right? Then you must have heard of me.” Marco needed only a minute to pull out a red scarf from the pocket of his hoodie, tied it around his mouth, and pulled his hood on. He may be missing his jacket and sword, but he was sure this was way more recognizable.

Indeed, this new image managed to give the assassin an idea of who he may be. “You’re a member of that new group of bounty hunters.” What? Bounty hunters? Marco? Those words confused the hell out of Star. “You’ve been causing quite a ruckus across dimensions. Think I’m going to need my A-game for this.” With that said, the assassin wielded his massive chainsaw on his right arm, leaving his mechanical left arm free.

The fight resumed, just that this time, it was way more difficult for Marco to keep up. Every time he dodged the chainsaw, a fist or a laser blast met him from the other arm, and he could swear the lizard had become faster than before. It was when he took a wrong step, and the assassin brought down its chainsaw, that Marco was pinned down blocking with both swords. The one thing he wanted to avoid, a test of strength. As he was kneeling down on his knee and felt the teeth of his opponent’s weapon on his hair, Star jumped to save him, blasting the assassin away with a good magic blast to its head.

Star walked to Marco’s side and helped him up. “Are you ok?” Marco could only nod at her question. “Good, then you can help me kick this guy’s ass!” She had stayed on the sidelines for too long and wasn’t about to watch as that lizard tears her friend to shreds.

They didn’t have much time to think of a plan. So Marco needed to think fast. Now, what did Heckapoo always says to him when they fight a strong enemy? ‘You are bait’ Those were the only words of advice he could think of. “Star, you’re our heavy hitter now. I’ll draw his attention and when he drops his guard, you shoot him down with the strongest blast you have.” Star nodded in agreement and Marco charged against the assassin.

Star needed to wait for her opportunity. There were tons of moments when she wanted to strike the assassin back. Every time Marco took a hit from its metal hand, when the chainsaw came too close to cut him, or when he began to push Marco back. But she knew to keep it together, she waited for the right moment and couldn’t afford to miss. It was when Marco managed to disarm his opponent and ran both of his swords through the metal arm, to prevent him from moving it, that Star knew it was her time.

The princess shot her Warnicorn Stampede directly at the assassin, Marco managed to jump away at the last possible minute, and the warnicorns dragged the Assassin further into the aisles and out of sight.

It took them a minute to realize they won, and less than that to begin celebrating. They hugged in their fit of happiness and Marco spoke up first. “We did it, Star! We won! You were awesome there!”

“No, you were the awesome one. You fought that thing by yourself!” All of her doubts and fears were erased now.

“But we beat it together, and that’s what matters.” The two of them separated right there, without breaking the hug, and just looked at the other in the eyes. They were happy to be alive and to had beaten the odds, but what mattered to them was that they did it together.

Star was about to pull him closer to hugged him once more, but they were interrupted by a screech of anger at the distance. Following that, Rasticore, descended in front of them. He had jumped from however long the warnicorns had dragged him in order to continue fighting. The sight terrified the teenagers, the assassin was covered in cuts and bruises from the stampede with his metal arm fully cut off and the gem on his eye cracked. As soon as it landed, the lizard screamed at them and raised his fist to crush them.

Marco saw this and put himself in front of Star to protect her. He crossed his blades and braced for impact but the attack was stopped not by his blades but by Star’s magic. She had placed a magic barrier around the two of them and the Assassin began punching the barrier with all its might trying to break it down.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Marco spoke up. “How long can you keep this up?”

Star looked like she was having issues keeping the barrier up, especially with the lizard trying to tear it down. “A few seconds more, why?”

Marco pulled out his dimensional scissors and opened up a small portal. He quickly took something from the other side, a bandolier full of explosives. “At the count of three you’ll pull your barrier down and I’ll throw these at him. Trust me.” He didn’t need to speak softly right now, the assassin looked so lost into his rage that nothing could snap him out of it. He began to count and as soon as he said… “Three!” They both followed his plan to the letter. The explosives gave Marco a few seconds to act. He opened up a full-size portal and pushed Star right at it, he followed suit, and they both left the assassin with a bandolier full of active explosives. The explosion disintegrated him without leaving a trace.

Back on Earth. The two teenagers came back safe and sound. Janna was there still playing with her phone, she didn’t bat an eye at the sound of them bursting in, but she did have to raise an eyebrow at Marco’s makeshift mask and dual swords. “Hey, dude, did you buy one of those ninja kits toys for kids?”

Without paying attention to Janna’s words. Marco’s swords went back to normal bracelets and he pulled off his hoodie and scarf. “Star! Are you ok?! Speak to me, please!” He was shaking Star back and forward.

Swatting his hands away. “Yes! I’m fine, jeesh.” The two of them stood up and composed themselves. Again, they started to celebrate. Spinning around in the living room while Janna looked at them confused. When they finally separated, they couldn’t stop smiling and just sat down on the couch alongside Janna.

“You two sure had a fun couple of hours. What did you buy anyway?”

Marco raised his hands and showed Janna his wrists and the bracelets that hung from them. He looked at them for a second before a thought sprang into his mind. “But these are friendship bracelets, one for me and one for Star.” He removed the one on his left wrist and tried to hand it over to Star.

“Wha… No, Marco, I told you already, I wanted you to buy something for you. Besides, you already proved that you can use them to their full potential.” She handed it back to Marco. She even gave him a reassuring smile to make sure he accepted it. Now Marco had a new piece of equipment and this one was given to him by his best friend, he could only smile at it.

“Yeah, you two are best friends, we get it. Star, are we still up for the party at the abandoned warehouse?” Marco was confused at her words, and he couldn’t hide it. “The bad boys from school are throwing a party at I invited Star there because, you know, Oskar will be there.” Janna was quick to clear any of his doubts.

“Are you sure it’s still up? I mean, it’s already past midnight.” Star still had some spare energy to hit that party, but she didn't want to make the trip for nothing.

“Sure it is. Pass midnight is when the fun really starts.” Janna was fired up to go already, she just needed her friend to follow her.

“Well… What do you say, Marco? Ready for some fun tonight?” Star didn’t want to leave her bestie behind, especially after all that happened.

“Mmmmm…” He also had the energy to spare, but he already was annoyed by the idea when Janna mentioned Oskar. He knew the night will be just Star trying to hit on Oskar, Janna hanging around the cool kids, and he left with the task of supporting one of the walls. Then again, he did want to spend more time together with Star. He was about to say yes, but his phone began to ring. “Just a second please.” He retreated to the kitchen to answer.

It took him a couple of minutes to come back, while still covering his phone. “Hey, you two better go without me. Heckapoo wants to talk to me, sorry.” He shot an apologetic look at the girls.

Feeling down now, Star could only answer. “Yeah, you do that. We can have fun ourselves.” The girls stood up and made their way to the door. Star was the last one to exit as she needed to look back at her friend. She knew that Marco would spend the rest of the night talking with Heckapoo. It bothered her because she missed hanging out with him so much. Their little adventure today reminded her of how much fun the two of them could have together. Even with the two of them almost losing their lives. She could only look down as she exited the house and closed the door behind her.

Marco saw the door close behind Star. He knew that Star will have fun at the party, maybe, even more fun without him there. Hell, she would be in dreamland with Oskar there. Still, he couldn’t help it but feel sad. Star just saved his life a few minutes ago and he bailed on her. “Hello, are you there?” Heckapoo’s words snapped him back to reality.

“Yeah, what did you want to talk about?”

“Well, I got a clue about the whereabouts of that bandit group. How do you feel about going on a raid next weekend?” Next weekend was Halloween night. He always stayed home and helped his dad scared little kids, well, more like, paid the kids to pretend to be scared.

He quickly thought that he could pay them beforehand and then go raiding with Heckapoo. “Sure, How is my gear by the way?”

Groaning a bit. “It’s coming along. I still don’t know why you thought fighting that Minotaur barehanded was a good idea. You need to be more careful with your equipment, Marco, I bust my ass making them for you.”

Marco just laughed at her scolding. “Sorry, and thanks for everything you do for me, I really appreciated.”

“Hey, speaking of equipment. Did you take some explosives from my closet?”

Caught now, he could only tell the truth. “Yeah, sorry, I had a big fight earlier today and they saved my skin.”

Intrigued now, Heckapoo answered. “Against what? Tell me the details.” The two of them just talked for a few more hours on the phone. He did have a long story to tell and she was fully interested in everything he had to say.

All of them had a great night. Star and Marco made sure to hang out the next days afterward. It was the only thing Star could think of. Now with Marco having plans for Halloween, she was going to spend the night with Janna at the Diaz household.

It was now Halloween night and Marco was about to leave. Still, he made sure to leave some clear instructions for the girls. “So, the kids will be coming by later this night, just escort them to the living room to watch my dad’s show. If some of them ask for more money just take some from my drawer and give it to them. My dad always gets sad when he is reminded that his haunted house isn’t actually scary.” He showed the girls his drawer with cash and some gold coins. “Any questions?”

Janna promptly raised her hand and Marco nodded at her. “What’s up with your outfit?” She pointed right at Marco, her question was one that both girls had in her mind since the moment they saw him.

Marco was wearing black jeans and high boots, with a steel plating on the toes, his black leather jacket with a gray shirt underneath, a pair of fingerless gloves, along with the bracelets he got from Quest Buy last week. His extra gear was his sword strapped to his side, a bandolier full of throwing knives, a weird looking belt buckle, with several pouches and flasks along his belt, and some armor could be seen on his knees, elbows and over his shoulders. All of this and he also carried a rucksack on one hand.

“I already told you. I’m going out with Heckapoo.” That only raised more questions.

“And you need to look like the freaking road warrior? What kind of dates do the two of you have?” It was an important question that Janna brought up.

“Look, it’s nothing to worry about, ok. I’m already late as it is, see you later.” He opened up a portal, but before he could step to the other side.

“Marco, promise me you won’t do anything dangerous.” Star’s words stopped him in his tracks. There was no way he could keep that promise.

“I’ll promise that, if you promise not to do anything weird while I’m away, like, summoning a ghost to haunt the house or something.” He knew they would do something like that, maybe not to the magnitude of his example, but something along those lines.

“I promise!” Star was quick to answer.

“Then, don’t worry, I won’t be doing anything stupid either.” With that last note, Marco made his exit.

Star was sure that this night would be a chill one. How difficult would it be scaring some kids anyway? Yeah, the hours passed and not a single child was scared. Both girls groaned in frustration. “What should we do, Janna?”

“Hey, don’t ask me, I would prefer being in the actual scary haunted house down the street.” Her words made Star groan again.

“Honestly, I should just summon Hungry Larry and have him do the job.” Janna was intrigued by those words.

“Hungry Larry?”

“Yes, you summon him and he haunts your house. I hear he is a real creep.” Now, that sounded like the most awesome idea anyone had this night.

“Well, do it then!”

“I can’t, Janna, we promised Marco we wouldn’t do something like that. Although…” Yeah, her inner devils began to speak up. “I mean, if Mr. Diaz is happy, I’m sure Marco will be happy too. What do you think, Janna.” They both had made this promise and they both needed to agree on this.

Janna agreed and the two of them went upstairs to summon Hungry Larry. Doing the ritual and saying his name three times, the girls were surprised to hear the doorbell ringing, they were more surprised when they saw a tiny little ghost on the other side. Hungry Larry sure looked cute, but not scary, at all. Still, they decided to give him a chance, inviting him upstairs to Star’s room. They soon found out that Hungry Larry was more of a creep than anything else, by his request, they left him alone in the room and walked downstairs to wait… whatever he would do.

As time passed and nothing chance. The girls began to discuss their night and their decision to summon that ghost. They quickly arrived at the realization that, even if they give Mr. Diaz a haunted house, it still won’t make him scary. With that realization dawning on Star’s mind, she gave Janna the all clear to fire Hungry Larry. She jumped up at hearing Janna’s screams of terror coming from upstairs.

Star would have gotten upstairs to check what was happening, but she got busy at the door. Tons of children wanted to get inside and try out the new haunted house, and she left them inside without issues. Boy is Marco going to be happy when he arrives and sees how much of a success his dad’s haunted house is. Also, she should probably go up and check on Janna and all those kids, they had been awfully quiet after all of those screams of terror.

Marco arrived early from his raid. Those bandits went down too easy if he was being honest, and he was disappointed at it. The two of them had been tracking them for weeks just for their fight to be over after a quick skirmish. Afterward, they just collected their bounty and went their separate ways. Arriving in his own room, he placed his half of the bounty on top of his bed and went to check on his family and Star.

It was as soon as he got out of his room that he noticed a black liquid coming from Star’s bedroom. He then heard what sounded like his dad fighting a horrible abomination, but that couldn’t be it. He opened up the door and walked inside.

Yeah, it was just that. Marco found himself dumbfounded at the sight in front of his eyes. “Marco! This ghost is haunting our house, he ate them all Marco!” Dammit, Star, and Janna. The one thing he asked them not to do. Wait, he ate them all? Indeed, the creature in front of them looked bulged around the waist, and screams of help could be heard coming from inside of it, but his dad was having no trouble fighting him with his bare hands.

All of this gave Marco an idea. He approached his dad to relay his plan. “Dad, I know what we must do, but please, stayed back and wait for my signal.” It was the confidence in his words that made Mr. Diaz comply.

He put his plan into action. Marco first turned his bracelets into a pair of hooks, and then, with a quick move of his arms, a pair of chains came out of his sleeves, they were connected to the hooks already. Dodging the creature’s attacks, he managed to get close enough to pierce his skin with the hooks. Now screaming in pain, the creature wailed on him, but to no avail, Marco was able to dodge its attacks and run around it, entangled it with his chains. After spinning around it a few times, there was no end to the chains coming from Marco’s sleeves, he signaled his dad to get closer.

“Now, we’re going to spinning around, giving him nausea, and making it puke them all.” It was a good plan, and the two of them managed to execute it easily together. They pulled the chains and ran in circles around Hungry Larry, making him spin faster and faster by the second. When the two of them had given it enough force to let go. Marco just commanded his chains to let go and go back to him. It didn’t take long for the ghost to spin around and puke all of his victims till it was tiny again. All of them came out with nausea, spinning around themselves, or a combination of the two, good thing nobody else puked.

“Star!” Marco ran towards his friend while his dad went to check on his mom. “Are you ok?! Tell me!”

She was fine, just feeling a little sick right now. “Yeah, I’m fine. What happened back there?”

Letting out a sigh of relief. “My dad and I saved you all. Now, to deal with that thing.” He approached the tiny ghost, still spinning around on the floor, and stopped him. “Now, what happened here, and you better not lie to me.”

Hungry Larry managed to compose himself and answered. “I was summoned by those girls to haunt this place.” It signaled to Star and Janna. “And, I’m sorry but I can’t go leaving a half-finished job.” He sat there and crossed his arms.

Knowing this didn’t need to end in violence. “Look…” He pulled out his scissors and opened up a portal to his room, pulling out the bag with his half of tonight’s bounty and placed it in front of the ghost. “I’ll pay you to leave. Just take the money.” Reluctantly, Hungry Larry agreed on the deal and made his way out.

Actually, all of the kids and Janna also made their way outside of the house, all of them scared of everything that happened. Mr. and Mrs. Diaz retreated, happily, downstairs. Leaving Star and Marco to clean up the mess. Which was quick using Star’s magic.

“Uff, today was a hard one, to say the least.” Star was happy to have left all of that behind, but she was quickly met with Marco’s angry glare.

“Star! I told you not to do anything like that. What were you thinking?” She was sad for a moment, and then annoyed at how much of a hypocrite he sounded right now.

“Don’t play that game with me, Marco. You also broke your promise, I’m not stupid you know.” She was ready to argue about all of this if needed to.

“Look, one thing is risking my life, another is to risk the lives of all of those people.” He still didn’t address the issue.

“Don’t try to change the topic. You never intended to keep your promise, and you just admitted to go out and risk your life. Just tell me, Marco, what is going on with you and Heckapoo, I know it is more than dates.” She should have had this conversation a week ago after she heard that Assassin call Marco a bounty hunter, but everything happened so fast that she forgot about it till now. “What about last week when you fought that assassin? He knew you, and not just because Miss Heinous sent it after us. Even you said he must recognize you.”

Marco tried to defend himself, but Star wasn’t having any of it. “And you come here and just buy Hungry Larry’s compliance? Where did you get that kind of money in just one night?” Again, he had a lie ready for that, if only Star could give him a chance to speak up. “And what about your clothes, and those chains? Are you seriously expecting me to buy that it’s just your normal outfit to go on dates? Marco, what’s going on with you?”

Star finished venting all her pent up frustration and began to tear up a bit. “It’s just, I feel like I don’t know you anymore.”

Marco couldn’t lie anymore, well, he could, but he would be losing his closest friend, and he couldn’t take that. He needed to be clean right now. He approached Star and cleaned her tears before speaking up. “Ok, Star, I’ll be honest, about everything.”

The teenagers sat down and he began to explain everything. “Well, first of all. Heckapoo and I are bounty hunters across the dimensions. It just happened you know? We started going out and fight monstrosities or visiting dangerous places just for fun, and out of nowhere, we defeated a beast that had a bounty, and we began tracking one down, then another, and another. Soon enough, we had built up a reputation.”

That answered her questions about the money and what really took all of his time away. “My equipment and gear are made by Heckapoo. Some pieces I added after some adventures, like the bracelets I got thanks to you.”

Marco noticed how worried Star looked right now, he knew what that was about. “Yes, I know is dangerous, but I have Heckapoo, and she has me. We fight together and watch each other’s backs.”

“It’s not that.” Her words made him jump back. “Marco, I’m mad that you kept all this a secret from me. What if something awful were to happen to you on one of your travels? Nobody here would know what happened to you.”

He didn’t have an excuse for that. “I thought that if you didn’t know where I was running off, you wouldn’t worry about me, or you know, want to follow me. It’s dangerous out there, and you know it, but it’s not the same kind of danger you’re used to.”

That got her angry, she knew how to protect herself. Who’s Marco to say what dangers she can and can’t face? “See, that’s what I’m talking about!” Star’s outburst wasn’t expected. “You don’t trust me to be around you and watch your back now!? We have been fighting monsters since I got here, do you really think I can’t handle all of that?”

It then dawned on Marco what was really troubling her. “Star, listen here, I’m not replacing you or anything like that. It’s just…” And he was interrupted by Star.

“What!? You think I’m jealous?! You two can go and get married for all I care. But you just told me, to my face, that you don’t trust me to watch your back.” She stood up and gave her back to him. “After all we been through, I’ll hope you will have more faith in your best friend, but now I see that it didn’t matter to you. One warrior girl from another dimension is just as good as the other, right?”

“Wait! Star, is not like that. I truly…” And he couldn’t finish his sentence again. Star levitated him out of her room and closed the door behind him.

“And I don’t want to see you in my room ever again!” She screamed at him from inside the room.

Marco knew he screwed up. He should have come out clean about everything earlier, but how do you say to your best friend that you go risk your life across dimensions and collect bounties on dangerous criminals? He wasn’t angry at Star’s reaction, but he felt so sad right now. It was his fault that the two of them had distanced so much in the last few weeks.

Walking back to his room, he changed into his pajamas and laid down on his bed. He began tearing up remembering Star’s words and how angry she was, but what really tore him apart was that he knew all of this truly hurt Star. To know that your best friend may be replacing you would affect everyone. Marco needed to fix this mistake as soon as possible if he wanted to save his friendship with Star.


	4. Gone Hunting.

Marco had been working every day since his fight with Star to make amends with her. Heckapoo had been busier than ever these last days, and it will continue like that for at least another week, according to her. Which gave him extra time to think about what he could do. He tried every idea that he could come up with. Inviting her to the Boungue Logue, she just went with Pony Head and their friends instead. Letting her have some of his personal cereal, even after he stockpile on that thing Star didn’t even touch it. Marco even let her go wild with the sugaritos, but to no avail. It looked like Star’s cold shoulder won’t be melting anytime soon.

To top it all. Tonight there is going to be a Mackie Hand marathon on the other side of town. He just needed to get a pair of tickets for the night. Maybe Star wouldn’t be that happy about the idea of spending time with him in a dark room for, a minimum of, four hours, but she loves movies and today was Friendship Thursday. No matter how angry Star could be at him, she would never turn down Friendship Thursday. Besides, this was a one in a lifetime opportunity for Marco, he needed to be inside that theater, his heart and soul demanded it. It was three birds with one stone, just that one of those birds was bigger than the others.

He groaned and almost punched a hole in his laptop the moment he found out the tickets were sold out. But that feeling of annoyance was replaced by another, stronger, feeling of annoyance. Tom, Star’s demon ex-boyfriend, appeared in front of him from a column of fire, and he had a pair of tickets for the show, and he wanted to go with him. What?!

“Are you even a Mackie Hand fan?” Marco asked, incredulously.

“I’m a super fan.” Tom replied without even a glimpse of trickery in his voice.

“Why do you want to go with me?” Still, Marco knew there was something he wasn’t telling him.

“I really thought we connected that one time. Over Ping-Pong?” He sounded so sincere right now.

After Marco pointed out the fact that he kidnaped him that one time. Tom apologize for it and promised that he wouldn’t get angry anymore. Marco didn’t know what to think right now, maybe he needed a second opinion, and he knew the guy’s ex.

“Follow me.” Marco signaled Tom to the hallway and the two of them arrived at Star’s room door. He knocked twice and received no response. “Star? Hey, your demon ex-boyfriend is here and wants to invite me over to a movie marathon. What’s your take on this?” Again, no response. He knocked again just to make sure she heard him the first time.

It was painful for Marco, to say the least, but he had to accept that Star didn’t want to see him right now and he couldn’t do anything about it. He looked sad enough for Tom to notice. “Hey, you alright?”

He just let out a small sigh and answered. “Yeah, let’s go now. The theater is on the other side of town.” The two of them made their way to Tom’s carriage parked outside. Maybe spending some time with Tom would clear his head.

Marco couldn’t even describe how surprised he was when he discovered how cool hanging out with Tom was. They talked about kung fu movies, ate tons of snacks and candies, played with the tiger in the room, and took some pictures in the photo booth, all of this while listening to Love Sentence’s greatest hits. At the end of all that, the two of them were so pleased with everything that they collapsed on the floor.

“I can’t believe I’m actually having a good time with you.” The two of them laughed at that.

“I know. Right? Hell. I could just skip that whole movie marathon and…” Hearing that, Marco remembered why he was here, to begin with.

“The marathon! It starts in…” He quickly checked his phone. “Ten minutes!?” He got up and ran towards the door. As he was about to touch the door, tons of chains and a huge lock appeared to block his path. “The hell? Can you unlock the door?”

“Hey, couldn’t we just chill here for, like, another four and a half minutes?” Tom was mostly begging at the moment. But Marco wasn’t able to see this, he just wanted to exit and enjoy some time on the movie theater.

“No, we need to go, just let me go!” He turned around and began to shake the lock. Tom placed his hand over his shoulder and turned him back to see him again.

“Please. Just wait a little longer.” Marco was taken aback by his tone.

Marco saw how much he was begging him to stay just a bit longer. He would have been scared or intimidated by him if he hadn’t fought worse things while going out with Heckapoo. Tom just wanted a couple of minutes to hang out, he can do that. Letting out a small sigh, Marco sat down on the floor without saying anything. Tom wanted him to stay but he said nothing about talking.

“… What are you doing?” Tom honestly didn’t expect him to comply that easily, but this may have been for the best as he was about to blow up in front of him.

“Waiting, isn’t that what you wanted?” He rested his head on his hand and waited for Tom to either let him go or come out clean about what was happening right now.

“Sorry about it. It’s just…” Tom was quickly interrupted by the sound of a whistle. It was Tom’s tiger that was blowing that whistle, and after unmaking itself. It was revealed to be Tom’s life coach. “”Congratulations Master Tom, you did it! You spent three hours alone with the person you hate the most.” The life coach got out of his tiger costume and approached Tom with a badge. “You have earned the Anger Management Badge.”

“So this is what all of this was about!” Marco snapped right at Tom for all the lies. “You pretended to want to be my friend and to spend a good time with me just to win a stupid badge, and I fell for it!” In a fit of anger, he kicked the door open and stomped out.

He was ready to open up a portal home, but Tom appeared in front of him from a column of fire. “Wait, Marco! Yes, I asked you to come here to win my badge, but I really did had a good time with you.” Marco began to walk away with Tom following behind. “Look, I know you won’t don’t want to see me right now, but at least let me explain myself.”

Those words stopped Marco on his tracks. Dammit, he was doing to Tom what Star was doing to him right now, giving him the cold shoulder. Marco is going to hate himself for saying this later, he just knows it. “Ok then, talk.” The two of them stayed in the middle of the sidewalk to talk.

Taken by surprise again, Tom began to scramble some words together. “After you agreed to stay for a couple of minutes I was about to come clean, I swear, my coach beat me to the punch.” Marco wanted to believe him, he really does, but Tom just admitted to having lie to him all afternoon. “Look, take the tickets, just take them.” He presented the tickets for the theater in front of him. “I know how much you want to see that marathon and you don’t even have to watch it with me, just take Star or someone else.”

It then clicked for Marco. Tom was using him to win a badge, and he was using Tom to get the tickets. Who was the biggest jerk here? Marco promptly took the tickets and shred them in front of Tom. “Apology accepted Tom, but I also have to apologize.” Tom was way too surprised by his actions and words. “I spent all that time with you for those tickets, it may not be as bad as what you did, but I also acted like a jerk there. To be honest, you are a cool guy to hang around.” The two of them smiled, accepting the other apology. “Besides, spending time with you really lifted up my mood, thanks for that.”

Thinking for a moment, Tom knew what was bringing him down. “It’s about Star? She did ignore you back home.” He could have been more tactful there though.

Groaning, Marco answered. “Yeah, she has been ignoring me since Sunday.” The boys sat down on the sidewalk and keep talking. “I had been going on adventures without her for a while now, I don’t blame her if she thinks I don’t want her to hang with me.”

“And, why haven’t you invite her to go with you on your little adventures?” Tom was asking the obvious questions.

“My runs are not the normal kind of adventures Star is used to. They are way more… deadly.” Marco had forgotten who he was talking to right now, he just felt that comfortable around Tom.

“But, Marco, she is a magical princess from another dimension. She has been around death and battles all her life and carries one of the strongest weapons in all existence. I’m sure you’re underestimating her.” Tom did knew the girl almost as much as Marco.

It’s not like he didn’t know this, but Marco still felt like this wasn’t something that Star should be doing. “I know that I’m underestimating her, but if she were to get hurt while going around with me, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“Oh… Oooooooooooooh.” It was like something had clicked inside of Tom’s mind. Marco was confused at that reaction. “Hey, maybe you should have some faith in the girl, she could surprise you.” Tom brushed his realization away.

“You think it will be a good idea?” He already had considered that idea before, but maybe hearing another point of view will give him some confidence.

“Do you honestly never risked your life while going out with her before? Besides, you said you had been going around on your own already. I say trust your skills and to trust Star.” He did make a good point. Star and Marco have so much synchrony and worked so well together already. “And don’t give up Marco. I’m sure you’ll get her attention one of these days.” That was a weird comment, but Tom was a weird guy, Marco just ignored it.

“I’ll think about it. Maybe I can find a simple enough adventure for the two of us.” He could check the bounty board later and find something cool for the two of them to do, maybe a little treasure hunting to keep it simple. After that thought, Marco yawned loudly and got up. “Hey, Tom, I think I’m going back home now. Having fun really takes a toll on you.”

Tom got up and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. “Sure, Marco, and good luck with Star. I mean it.” With that said, Marco went back home using his own dimensional scissors. Back home now. Marco walked towards Star’s room. He was reluctant to knock again, but brushed the fear away and did it. The door wasn’t closed, to his surprise, so he walked in. “Hey, Star, are…” Before he could finish, a narwhal blast was shot in his direction.

Marco was able to dodge it at the last second and suddenly heard Star saying. “Hey, it works!” Looking up, Star was sitting on the spell book alongside Glossarick. “Sorry about that Marco. What you’ve been doing?”

He was confused about that question. “Uh, I told you earlier that I was going out with Tom. I even knocked on your door and all.”

Star jumped back in surprise. “Sorry! I had to go inside my wand to fix it, that’s why I couldn’t answer you.” She looked genuinely apologetic about that. Star had a weird experience inside her wand, weird and terrifying, to say the least. That’s why she had forgotten she was angry at Marco.

Relief now, Marco walked inside to talk with her. “No problem. Did everything came out fine in the end?”

“Of course it did, she is the wielder of the wand. Star can do anything.” Glossarick said proudly, and Star giggled a bit.

Marco approached Star with something to say. “Hey, I wanted to say something now that you’re finally speaking to me.” He sat down in front of her to have an eye to eye talk.

“I’ll just leave you two alone.” And Glossarick returned to the book and closed it up, leaving Star to sit on the floor.

Marco missed no time speaking up. “Look, I’m sorry. I should have told you from day one what I was doing. Hell, I wouldn’t be doing it if you had never come into my life. I don’t want you to think I’m replacing you or underestimating you because I don’t.”

Star already knew all of this, but she was so angry before that she didn’t even stop to think about everything. “I was just scared that if you knew about it, you’ll start following me around, which would have been fine, at the beginning, but now I know how dangerous those adventures can be.”

“So, you were scared of me getting hurt?” She hadn’t really thought about it like this before.

Marco went silent right there. He was sure that this would only make Star angry at him once more, but he didn’t want to lie right now. “Yes, and I know how stupid that sounds. The safe kid from Earth worrying about the magical warrior princess from Mewni. But, Star, I would never deliberately put you in any danger, and you’re my best friend, I couldn’t stand seeing you get hurt… and… and…” He wanted to cover all his bases to avoid Star getting angry once more.

“I get it, Marco. You care about me. Sorry that I wasn’t able to see it before.” It was so Marco to worry about her like that. “Just promise me two things.”

“Anything.” He was ready to hear her conditions.

“One, don’t you ever hide something like this from me, never again.” She told him with a stern voice. Star was more angry at him for the secrecy than anything else, so this was an obvious choice.

“Done. What else?” Marco wasn’t prepared for what was coming.

“You will take me on your next adventure.” The second thing that bothered Star so much was getting pushed aside by Marco on this.

“Star… I don’t think…” Again, it was his own fears that stopped him from saying yes. Just then, Marco remembered Tom’s words about having faith in Star and their friendship. It was true, Star might surprise him. He let out a big sigh and then answered. “Fine, but you gotta promise to follow our instructions to the…”

“No! We go just the two of us without Heckapoo or no deal.” She sounded angrier than anything else right now.

Not wanting to fight again. “Ok, have it your way, but you will follow my instructions.” Star giggled at his words and the two hugged, sealing their deal. It was for the best, Marco thought. Heckapoo won’t be free from work in another week or so, and he tried all the week to spend time with Star.

“So, when are going?” Star said full of enthusiasm.

“Not today, so don’t get too excited. I’ll try to have something for us to do this weekend, maybe Saturday.” Marco took out his phone and realized how late it truly was. “I’ll go to bed now, and you should too, we have school tomorrow.”

The teenagers said their goodbyes and each one prepared themselves for bed. Marco now needed to find something for them to do this Saturday, it shouldn’t be that difficult to do. Star on the hand couldn’t think about sleeping at all. Hearing everything she has heard about Marco’s adventures she needed to get everything ready. The weapons she would take, the kind of armor she needed to wear. They were going to look for trouble and she needs to be prepared for everything. She missed some sleep preparing for their adventure, but it was worth it to show Marco that she can be as good as Heckapoo out there.

Next day at school was uneventful. The two friends spent it bored as always till they arrived home and Marco checked the mail. “Here it is, Star. The newsletter from the guild.” Marco presented her with a normal looking newspaper.

Star gave him a confused look. “Let’s go upstairs.” They did just that, resuming their talk in Star’s room. “When you enter this particular bounty hunter guild, you get this paper with the latest, and/or, highest priced bounties.” It was even written in a language the two of them could understand. Star reached out and took the paper from Marco’s hands.

“Let’s see then.” She flipped the pages looking for a good adventure to go on. “Golden apples, bandit groups, protection request. Boring, boring, boring. Where are the really dangerous works?” Marco had been going on about how dangerous his escapes were, but she could only see normal work that she or the guards from her castle are used to.

Reaching out to grab the paper back. “Well, the really dangerous ones are for the long run, you know the ones, stalking, hunting, apprehending.” All of those things needed patience and care, both things that Star lack. “But the treasure hunting can be dangerous. It depends on the location you …” Just as he was flipping the pages, a black envelope fell from inside the newspaper. It looked important and they both saw when it hit the floor, but only Star was fast enough to grab it.

“Now, this one looks interesting.” She quickly broke the wax seal and unfolded the paper. Only to be met with weird looking text and a picture of a wolf. “I can’t read any of this, good drawing though.” She handed it to Marco.

“It’s written in code so that no one outside the guild knows its secrets.” He began reading the paper while still talking with Star. “These black envelopes are important bounties the guild wants done ASAP, and the employers don’t mind paying several fortunes to have them done.”

Star watched as Marco read the black paper with red letters. He sometimes reacted or looked worried about it, but his face quickly settled on a smile, which he dropped when he looked at Star again. “Well, what does it says?”

Worried now, Marco knew that Star would want to go for this one, hell, his blood was boiling just thinking about going after this one. He had never gone after one of this, but he knew that he needed Heckapoo’s support for this, especially with the last note that the bounty ended with. He did promise to bring Star to one of his adventures and that he wouldn’t lie to her or keep any secrets from her, so he was stuck now.

Letting out a big sigh, he decided to come out clean. “Ok, I’ll read it for you.” He breathed in and began reading. “The God of Wolves has awoken in the Crimson Dimension.” He read the title of the bounty like it was, and paraphrase the rest. “He is receding on some woods that connect four different kingdoms inside that dimension, those kingdoms are the ones that put up this bounty.” He showed the picture to Star, it even came with a description of the beast. “By the measurements here, the thing is bigger than an elephant and crazy strong. He’s been killing everything from cattle, hunters, knights, and Royals that went looking for him. The thing is, he barely eats his victims.”

For Star, that sounded like the kind of stuff the bards will sing about for ages on the Royal Court of Mewni. “Awesome, let’s get that beast!” She began to grab her weapons and armor, but Marco stopped her.

“Star, I don’t think that’s a good idea. At least let me finish before you decide.” It was this part in specific that was going to be difficult. “The bounty is for his head. If we go after it, we are not going to capture it or beat him till he promises not to do it again. We are going to kill him, no other way around it.” He said this with total seriousness in his voice, maybe this will make Star back down.

But Star was no stranger to death. Her father always talks about all the beasts he has killed, not counting that he always took her to his hunting trips too, and the castle guards taught her how to kill from early age. So yeah, she isn’t a stranger to killing things, this would be another normal hunting trip. Besides, Marco had finally let her in on his adventures and she was going to ride this train all the way dammit.

Star sputtered before answering. “Well, duh, it’s an extermination. Now, let’s go! Or are you getting cold feet?”

Marco accepted her words, but he was still worried about it. “Ok then, but you’re not using any of your equipment.”

Star groaned loudly. “But Marco, I’m way more comfortable using this, besides, they are the best weapons I have for a real fight.”

“Yeah, but that forest is several miles long. You’re going to get tired just walking around that heavy armor and weapons.” Thinking how to get around this issue, Marco got an idea. “Look, wait here, I’ll go get my equipment from Heckapoo’s place and get you some armor while at it.” He didn’t notice Star groaning at his words and just opened up a portal inside the room. Stepping out of the portal, Marco was greeted by Nachos. “Hey, girl, good to see you. Is Heckapoo around?” The dragon cycle looked sad at his words. “Oh, I see, busy with work, again.” He was half sad about not being able to see her, and half relieved that he wouldn’t need to explain himself to her right now.

Nachos and Marco walked towards the equipment closets and grabbed the rucksack with all of his gear inside. He also grabbed a couple of short swords and an extra suit of light armor for Star. He knew that Heckapoo had bigger… curves than Star, so he grabbed his old leather armor for his friend. He also made sure to grab another red scarf. “Thanks for the help girl, keep up the good work.” Marco made sure to leave a note for Heckapoo telling her not to worry about the missing equipment, he also made sure to fill up Nachos’s bowl of food and water, patting her on the head before he went back.

“Here you have them, Star.” He placed the bag on the floor and began to unload it. “Armor made from the best leather around, some traveling equipment for the journey and a pair of swords for you. I know that you can make do with your wand alone, but I didn’t want to leave you without any other weapons.”

Star inspected all of the gear that Marco gave her. Everything looked in top quality and well treated. Even the swords looked better than any of her weapons. “So, you’re gonna let me change in privacy, or what?” She shot a smile at Marco and he promptly made his way to his room to change.

“Oh, by the way, you’re going to need this.” Marco reached out and gave Star the red scarf he picked up earlier, and exited the room.

Now in his own room, Marco began to change to his armor. He said armor, but it was only his renegade outfit, although, appearances can be deceiving. He stripped down till he was wearing nothing but his boxers, socks, and grey t-shirt. First was the black jeans, they looked like normal jeans, but the fibers were made from a specific underworld plant, they are completely fire, and cut proof, while still being flexible enough to wear.

Then came the arm bracers. They covered his arms from the elbows to the forearms. The newest part of his equipment. These bracers summoned magic chains from the little compartments around the forearms. Heckapoo came out with that idea after seeing the bracelets he bought at Quest Buy. The chains connected to the weapons he summoned, giving him extra range in battle or helped him apprehend his bounties without too much hassle. These bracers were thin enough to wear under his jacket and light enough to not restrain him in battle.

The black leather jacket he wore fully zipped up was made from chimera leather, fire proof, again, but it also protected him from chemicals and poisons that may come in contact with it. In between the lining, several padding and protecting plates were sewed for extra defense. The jacket had already saved him from ax blows and crossbow bolts at close range, Marco was sure it could stop a bullet, and it came with its own red hood sew on the back of the neck. The boots and gloves were made from the same kind of leather of his jacket, just with no extra padding. The pads he wore on his elbows and knees were made from normal steel as to not weigh a lot.

He strapped his sword to his waist and lastly, the red scarf. This one was a normal scarf that you could buy on Earth. It’s symbolic value far outweighed any monetary one. As he finished tying the scarf around his neck, there was a knock on the door. In came Star, wearing the leather armor Marco gave her, and the two swords around her waist. She had even managed to strap her magic wand on her belt, and she was wearing the red scarf around her forehead.

“Look at me, don’t I look like a real, dangerous, bounty hunter?” She spun around, posing, and swinging her swords around. “You look like a motorcycle bandit from one of your old movies though.” They both laughed at this.

“You’re wearing the scarf wrong. It should be like mine so you can cover your face.” He approached Star and began fixing the scarf.

“Why do we need these in the first place anyway?” She knew that Marco liked the color red and that Heckapoo’s favorite color was red, but she hoped there was a more special meaning for the scarfs.

“Well, we began using them because of Heckapoo.” And Star rolled her eyes at Marco. “She didn’t want people to recognize her while we went out, so she began wearing the scarf. Soon enough, it became the symbol of our little group.” He finished by giving a good tug to the scarf around her neck. “We got lucky there that no other group of bounty hunters used red scarfs. They see it and know not to mess with us… Give another minute now. Do you have a hair band?” Star gave him one of her bands and Marco began to fix her hair.

Marco gave Star a ponytail. It will be easier for her to run and fight like this. He removed her devil horns and then spun her around to see how she looked. This was a whole new look for Star. The armor he gave her was a jacket, pants, and bracers that you wear on top of your normal clothes, and Star even went beyond for the occasion. She was wearing black leggings and a track jacket, almost all of them covered up with the leather armor. But Star, being Star, had to throw in part of her own style. Instead of boots, she wore steel armor shoes reaching to her knees. Over her leather bracers, an armored glove on her left hand, and an arm-guard covering her right arm from the top of her shoulder to the back of her hand.

For Marco, Star looked way too different from her usual self, but he liked this look on her. Even with her new ponytail. Star looked awesome right now, no other way to put it. This new look made her look even more beautiful on Marco’s eyes… Hearing those words again in his mind, Marco blushed hard and took a step back from her.

“What happened Marco? Struck by my strong aura, perhaps? I do feel way more badass than usual.” Star already accomplished her first objective, look the part. Wearing this new outfit made her want to kick some ass already, but having Marco almost fell over backward by her looks was a welcome plus.

“We are ready now, and that’s what matters. Just let me prepare my tonics.” Marco reached for a little wooden box inside his bag. He opened it up and groaned at what he found inside. “I had forgotten about it. I used the last of my tonics on our last run.” Thinking about what to do for a second. “No problem, we’re just going to have to make a little stop on our trip. Put on your scarf and follow me.”

Marco opened up a portal and the two of them crossed to the other side. They ended up inside a castle keep on what looked like rush hour. Tons of people were running around the place, buying things from stalls or passing through the castle gates. “We need to go inside follow me.” Marco grabbed Star’s hand, and the two of them went inside a tavern built into the first levels of the keep. “Wait here while I go talk with the herbalist.” Marco left right there, and Star decided to wait by the bar.

“Just give me something nonalcoholic.” Star asked the barman. She was already tired of the atmosphere inside the tavern and was hoping for Marco to finish up quickly.

A pig man approached her with a glass of water. “So, are you the new girl?” Those words confused Star. “You’re wearing that red scarf and came in with that guy, but you’re not the usual girl he is with.”

“Yeah, I’m a new member… Those two spend much time here?” Making idle talk was better than waiting in silence anyway.

“Nah, usually just come in here to claim bounties. Does that other girl know you’re with him?” Another confused look coming from Star. “I know it’s not of my business, but those two are always acting all lovey dovey while in here. Him walking in with another girl just took me by surprise.”

Star was annoyed by the talk already. It was something that she had realized recently. The mere thought of Marco and Heckapoo hanging around, alone, rubbed her the wrong way. She was sure it was the thought of Heckapoo stealing her best friend that was bothering her so much. That was the main reason she wanted to go on this adventure from the beginning. Yes, she knew this had to be the most selfish reason for doing it, especially with Marco having a real interest in the girl, but she had to at least try being part of Marco’s life right now.

It was in the middle of her thoughts that she felt a hand on her shoulder calling for her attention. “Hey, I’m all set up. Let’s go.” It was Marco carrying his wooden box. Star got up and followed Marco outside. They portal out of there and into the Crimson Dimension to find their target.

They soon realized why the place was called that. The sky was crimson red with black clouds. Under that sun red light, even the trees looked intimidating as hell. “Well, here we are, now we must find that giant wolf.” Star wasn’t bothered by the red sky, she was even more fired up to find that beast.

“Let me prepare myself first.” Marco opened up the box and pulled up four flasks with different colored liquids. The flasks weren’t bigger than a tennis ball each, except the one with the red liquid, that one was more like a golf ball, and Marco placed them in his belt before throwing the box through a portal back to his room.

“Now, let’s find some high ground.” Marco was no stranger to tracking. The two of them went deeper into the woods and Marco approached the tallest tree he could find. Standing in front of it, Marco jumped in a straight line. He jumped high enough to get halfway up the tree and then jumped from branch to branch till he arrived at the top.

Scouting the surrounding area. Marco could see a couple of trees knocked over at the distance, and judging by the size of the wolf, this could be taken as a clue. Without missing a beat, Marco dropped from the tree and landed crouching on his feet. He was about to tell Star the information he had gathered, but he stopped as he saw the shock expression on her face. It quickly dawned on him that Star knew nothing about the magic he was using right now.

“It’s the jacket, well, the magic charm sew into the jacket.” Marco turned around and showed Star the pair of wings sew with thread on his back. “Heckapoo sew them in. It’s a magic charm that makes me, almost, weightless. It helps me run, and jump, faster and higher without using too much energy, and look…” He walked over some mud on the ground, leaving no tracks on his path. “Perfect when I need to stay hidden. My footsteps make no sound either.”

Star ran her fingers all over the wings on his back, her eyes glowing in amazement. The golden colored thread formed a beautiful pair of feathered wings on his back. “Any other magic items that I need to know of?”

Turning around, Marco signaled to his belt. “My belt buckled can project a magic barrier, but it can run out of battery so I only used it when I truly need it.” The buckled was squared with a little imaged of a shield in the middle of it.

Another question flashed on her mind. “And those little flasks you have?”

“These are my tonics. You can think of them like magic potions, but these ones are more battle oriented.” He pulled out the flask with the blue liquid. “This one makes me breathe fire.” He took the green one next. “This one makes me even faster. I swear Star, time stops after I drink this.” The next one was a clear one, looked almost like water. “Think of this one as a universal antidote for poisons.” Lastly was the tiny red one. “This one makes me stronger and numbs the pain. I use it more when I need to end a fight quick.” That about covers all of his equipment.

“You’re a crafty one, aren’t you. But I wouldn’t expect less from the safe kid himself.” She was just teasing him a bit, but in reality, Star was surprised and amazed at Marco’s confident aura. It was obvious that he had been doing this a while and knew how to handle himself in this environment. In simple terms. Marco looked so cool right now.

“Laugh all you want Star, that’s what’s been keeping me alive till now. Follow me, I found our trail.” They ran towards the fallen down trees Marco saw while scouting.

A simple look around on the area revealed Marco’s suspicious right. The God of Wolves had passed through here. The knock over tree branches and the paw tracks on the mud were enough clues for him. Something that perturbed him though, was the size of the paws imprinted on the ground. Way bigger than how it was described on the bounty. “Hey, Star, how do you think we should fight this thing?” Is not like he didn’t have a strategy ready for this, but he wanted to include Star on the hunt.

Damn, strategy wasn’t Star strongest point. Now, how did she usually ends up her fights? “I say keep our distance and blast him away with my spells.” Yeah, that about sums up her fights, except for the keeping her distance part, but she needed to sound clever right now. They began following the tracks deeper into the forest while Marco thought of a strategy.

“That’s, actually a good idea.” His words surprised Star. “When I’m with Heckapoo. We just overwhelmed the enemy with numbers and attack from all possible sides. Maybe with you, it will be more fitting to hit him with different kinds of attacks till I can deliver the finishing blow.” Now they had a strategy that they both could agree on except that last part. Star knew if she wanted to show Marco how reliable she is, that beast will have to die by her own hand. About the how? She would just have to cross that bridge when she gets there.

It took them near an hour following those tracks till they found something else. In a clearing inside the woods. They found several dead animals and blood marks that covered the nearby trees. Marco recognized the animals as horses, but something didn’t look right with them. “Aw, poor pegasus.” It was Star that approached the dead animals to check on them.

“How do you know what they are?”

“Look here in their backs this is where the wings should be. It looks like there were bitten off.” Not only that, most of them were complete, with only few bite marks around their bodies. “Something’s weird, this one has a broken neck.” Star inspected the rest of the bodies. “Looks like the wolf trapped them in his mouth and bashed them against the trees.” It sounded just like something a demonic monster wolf that enjoys killing would do. “He shook this one so hard the wings tore off.” Inspecting the bodies only made Star feel sick, so she stopped there. She approached Marco, which was giving his back to her. As soon as she turned him around. Marco had to hide the smile on his face.

Marco was eager, to say the least. The tracks he found suggested his prey was way bigger than anticipated, and now he saw what it was capable of. Eagerness was too small to describe how he felt like now. Fighting this thing was going to be epic and he knew it. He could only hope that it lasted longer than his last fight. He also knew that Star hasn’t seen this side of him, so he needed to contain this feeling unless he wanted to look like a creep in front of Star.

“They look fresh. The wolf must be nearby.” He began to look around, trying to find where the beast headed. Soon enough, they found the trail and followed. They walked a few meters till they found themselves in front of a cave leading underground. “Damn, I would have wished to fight him in open space.”

“Maybe we can wait it out.” Star just said what first came to mind.

Thinking for a second about that plan. “Well, he didn’t eat any of the horses back there. Maybe he went out hunting, or is about to go.” Marco knew this wasn’t the best idea they had, but it was the only idea they could muster right now. “Let’s take a better vantage point.” Marco signaled Star to jump on his back.

“Hang on.” On that note, Marco jumped towards the nearby tree and began climbing up. When they arrived at a sturdy enough branch to sat down, he put Star down. “And for extra safety.” He summoned his chains from his left hand, tying it around the branch and Star’s waist.

“Neat trick.” Star began fiddling with the chain.

“Thanks. Hey, are you hungry?” Star just nodded and Marco pulled out his scissors, bringing a bag of food from the other side of a portal. “Dry meat and fruit. I know it's not much, but it’s what we eat when on a run.” Star gladly accepted the snacks.

“Hey, Marco, what are you going to do with your half of the reward?” Star asked in between handfuls of food.

“Not much I think. I never really do much with the money I get for these jobs. What about you?” Marco was paying attention to Star while keeping his guard up.

“Maybe I’ll buy all my friends some Goblin Dogs, or I’ll buy the Bounce Lounge just for fun. Whatever I do, you can bet it will be big.” She didn’t think much about the money, to be honest, she was already having a good time with Marco, even if the beginning was a little disturbing.

Thinking for a moment. Marco came up with an idea. “Actually, I do have an idea on what to spend my money.” He opened up another portal and pulled out a sales catalog. “You see, there’s this Goddess of Love that sells jewelry, accessories, and the like. I had been wanting to buy something for Heckapoo for a while now, but I can never decide.” Star looked around and saw the kind of things advertise there. Golden apples, magic jewelry, dresses, makeup, some clothes more adult themed. All of them extremely high priced “With this kind of money, I can buy several of them at the same time and forget about choosing.”

“Have you even asked the girl on a date?” She asked full on best friend mode right now.

“Well, no, but, I can do that and give my present to her while on our date… Where do you think I should take her?” He wanted the opinion of another girl that was familiar with traveling between dimensions.

“Why don’t you show her around Earth?” For Star, Earth was a cool place to be, it was even one of her favorite places to be. “Take her to see a movie, or walk around the park.” Marco looked ready to dismiss that idea already, but Star added one last piece of wisdom. “You two go out on these kinds of crazy adventures all the time, maybe she would welcome the change of pace.”

“Good idea, Star, and thanks for helping me out.” They both smile. “Do you think she would say yes? She looks way too out of my league, even more than Jackie.” To say the least, Heckapoo was an inter dimensional warrior, crafts master, powerful magical being, and a beautiful girl.

Pointing out the obvious. Star spoke up “Well, she admitted that she has a crush on you.”

“Yeah, but those are crushes maybe I just look interesting, but as soon as we go out on a date. She will find out how boring it is to hang out with a boy from Earth.” It was so Marco to worry about this, but Star didn’t like the way he was talking about himself.

“Well, I hang around with you and we always have a great time.” Those words caught Marco’s attention. “Even in our down times. I always have a blast with you. Just be who you’re when we are together.”

“Thanks, Star, I mean it. Thank you for being here with me, by the way. I’m having a great time with you.” Again, they both smiled. It made Star happy that Marco had no regrets about bringing her along.

While they were busy talking. A loud howl could be heard at the distance. They both jumped up at the sound of it, and Marco noticed how late it had gotten. They had, maybe, another hour left of sunlight, perhaps even less than that, and their target hasn’t shown its face since they got there. The idea of camping with a giant wolf in the woods wasn’t appealing to either of them. They were inside a large forest that connected four different kingdoms, that gave Marco an idea. He began looking at the horizon and quickly found what he wanted.

“Look over there.” He pointed to a column of smoke rising at the distance. “That’s either a hunters lodge or a military encampment. Maybe they would let us rest in there.” The two of them made their way down and began walking towards the smoke. They picked up the pace in order to get there before nightfall. It didn’t take them long to get to their destination.

As they began approaching the smoke. Marco tripped over something on the ground, and he could hear Star gasping in horror. Looking for what tripped him, he found out it was the body of a soldier. He was fully armored and he still had several wounds across the waist, it was clear that he had died just recently. Marco got up and the two of them continued onto the clearing where the smoke was coming from. To their surprise, the smoke didn’t come from a fire place, but from a burning caravan in the middle of the clearing. Not only that, but several bodies wearing the same colors as the one they found on their way here littered the whole place.

It was obvious that the soldiers were guarding the caravan and also what attacked them, the torn apart limbs and giant bite marks were evidence enough. This scene looked fresh enough for the two of them to put up their guard. “Think we missed the wolf?” Star asked, half wishing that was the case now.

Just as she finished her sentence. They could hear footsteps and bite noises coming from the side. In came The God of Wolves with a half-eaten corpse hanging from his mouth. The giant, brown haired, yellow glowing eyed beast turned around to meet them, freezing them in place. Indeed, it looked big enough to swallow the two of them whole. There was no element of surprise, the wolf was already looking right at them. Star got closer to Marco and whispered into his ear. “Why isn’t he attacking?”

“Maybe he’s already full?” He was munching on a corpse right now, maybe he wasn’t interested in them. “Look, let’s back up to the woods, we are too exposed here.” They did just that, slowly, and without taking their eyes off the beast. In fact, the wolf didn’t take his eyes away from them either. Star and Marco walked back till they hit another dead soldier in their path and they had to look at their feet as to not trip over him. Once they were past that obstacle they looked up again, only to realize their target was no longer in front of them. Before they could continue walking away. The giant wolf appeared from their side, mouth open and fangs ready to tear them apart.

Marco was quick enough to grab Star by the waist and launch one of his weapon bracelets, turned into a hook now and connected to his chains, into a nearby tree. He was fast enough to dodge the attack and give them some high ground, but now they were hanging from a tree. It was Star that came up with an idea on what to do next. “How strong are your chains?”

Missing no time answering back. “What do you have in mind?”

This scene reminded Star of her old days taming warnicorns in the forest of Mewni. “I say we jump on his back and you chain his mouth shut. Then we can ride it around till we tire it enough for us to kill.” That was a good enough idea. Either that or fight the thing on its own grounds. For Marco, he had been wishing to fight it the old fashion way, but he was also worried about Star getting hurt.

Doing as Star planned. They both descended on top of the wolf and, with a quick maneuver, Marco trapped its mouth shut, and Star created a magic lasso to tie around its neck for extra support. Surprised, the wolf began to pace back and forwards, ramming itself into several trees just to shake them, but Marco’s chains were strapped to his arms, and Star’s lasso came from her wand, and she had her arms around Marco’s waist and held the wand with both hands in front of him.

Marco couldn’t get a hand free for him to pull the sword and kill their new mount, so he was following Star’s plan right now and tried steering the wolf into as many obstacles as he could. The wolf began running further into the woods with the two teenagers on top. It took several minutes of running around, hitting several trees, and rolling on the floor, for the wolf to suddenly stop in his tracks. The teenagers knew better than to claim victory. Their suspicions came true as the wolf jumped up and began climbing a nearby pine tree.

The wolf climbed and climbed till he ran out of tree and jumped in the air. It quickly dawned on them that, with the way they were holding on, they would be crushed under its weight. Marco’s shield buckle won’t be able to save them falling from this high up and Star was too busy maintaining her lasso to do something with her wand. Against his best judgment. Marco retrieved his chains and screamed at Star. “CAN YOU LAND YOURSELF!?”

“I CAN! BUT, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?!” Star dispel her lasso but kept hugging Marco from behind.

“WEIGHTLESS, REMEMBER?!” He separated himself from Star and threw her away from them. Now he was falling along with the giant wolf. He knew the beast won’t just fall down to splatter all over the ground, it was going to break the fall some way. Marco stabbed the creature in between the ribs with both hooks and then jumped away from it. True to his guess. The wolf spun around, burying his claws into a nearby tree and used it to break his fall. Marco retrieved the hooks as soon as he felt the tug on the chains and landed safely on the ground. Star landed seconds after using a magical umbrella.

It dawned on Star fairly quick. “And this is just the beginning, isn’t it?” Marco nodded with worried eyes while the wolf began climbing down after them.

Marco looked around and managed to see an old cabin at the distance. “Over there! If we make it we’ll have an advantage.” The pair ran towards the cabin, with the wolf giving chase. Now inside, Star and Marco went to the back of the cabin looking for cover. Just then, the wolf crashed into the doorway with both front legs sticking out of the side windows. “Now, Star, blast it away!” They had it on the perfect, although accidental, trap.

Star began to launch blast after blast of her best spells at the creature while Marco blocked its attacks, keeping Star safe. Blast after blast, magic creature after magic creature summoned by Star’s magic wand, and not a single one of them had any effect on the wolf, not even the warnicorns were of any help. Worse yet, the front door and wall were beginning to crack. The wolf was now able to reach to them and try to bite them, which meant Marco had extra work blocking the incoming attacks.

Now tired and done with this giant beast. Star unleashed her strongest spell. “Spider with a Top Hat Blast!” With that said, a little spider with a top hat appeared from her wand.

“A spider with a top hat?! How is that going to help us out!?” Distracted by Star’s choice of spell. Marco wasn’t able to dodge the wolf’s fangs. It was so fast that Star could only hear a loud crunching sound and Marco was gone in a second.

“MARCO!” It didn’t take long for Spider with a Top Hat and a Laser Gun to activate. The attack managed to damage, or annoy, the wolf into retreating, but Star wasn’t done with it. She placed the spider on her left shoulder and chase after it. “Spit him out! Let Marco go!” She charged with swords at hand and the spider cut off the wolf’s escape route.

It went pretty one-sided from here on. With Star cutting the wolf all over while dodging its attacks and the little spider on her shoulder prevented the wolf from fighting back. For a minute there, it looked like Star could win this fight all by herself. If it wasn’t for the wolf getting angrier by the minute. Soon enough, it wasn’t even bothered by her, or the spider’s attacks. Ignoring the attacks, the giant wolf tackled Star away and she hit a tree back first, hitting the back of her head against it.

As the beast was about to jump right at her. Marco entered the scene so fast that Star saw only a blur. He drove both his bracelets swords through its front legs, making it scream in pain. Then, as fast as he entered the fight, he ran in circles around the wolf, entangling his chains around its four legs and pushing it over.

“MARCO! Why are you so…” Star was surprised to see her friend safe, but Marco had more important matters at hand.

“He spat me out and green tonic! Now, kill it!” Marco got lucky back there. The wolf didn’t swallow it entirely, it just played with him inside its mouth while the padding and inside plates in his jacket took most of the damage. Not that it meant he was unscratched. Marco was full of cuts, bruises, and dirt. He was also limping on his right leg and blood covered his face. Suffice to say, his armor won’t protect him from another hit.

Marco wasn’t strong enough to maintain the beast restrained, especially with how much it was resisting. “Hit it, Star! I won’t be able to keep it down for long.” Star prepare an unusual spell. She needed to go for the kill and needed to do it now.

Star’s eyesight began to blur right there, that hit to the head sure mess her up worse than she imagined. She still needed to concentrate on her magic, which only made her headache worse, in fact, she needed to concentrate and aim, while the two of them had a huge beast waiting to kill them. Once the spell was ready. she closed her eyes and screamed. “Spear of Justice!” Those words were followed by a bright white spear shooting out of her magic wand. Star kept her eyes closed till she heard a pained howl coming from the target.

“Star, you missed!” Opening her eyes reveal it to be truth. Star missed the heart and hit the shoulder. The pain made it struggle in the ground harder than before. So hard, in fact, that it pulled Marco forward and slammed him on the ground. Releasing his grip on the chains and breaking the wolf free. Ignoring Marco on the ground. The wolf walked towards Star again. Star had reverted to using her old spells, which had already proven to be ineffective. It just walked slowly towards Star, with murder in its eyes.

Marco saw this and knew he had only one option left. His red tonic, or, how everybody at the guild called it, Red Rage. In all honesty, Marco hated drinking the tonics. It felt like he was accepting that his skills and training were not enough to get out of any situation he found himself in. Besides, they tasted horrible and had a number of negative effects on his body, he was basically ingesting poison everytime he took one of them. So, he hated drinking the tonics, but he knew that sometimes they were necessary for this line of work.

Red Rage was not only the worse of the tonics he carried but by far the most powerful, and useful right now. It was basically a berserker potion. It numbs his pain to almost zero and triples his strength. Downsides? It drives him into a murderous fury, he loses all resemblance of strategic thinking, and he would have to suffer through all the pain when he came down from it. In short words, he becomes a mindless killing machine but seeing how another mindless killing machine was about to attack Star. Marco had no other choice.

Downing that little flask. He raised up and screamed full of rage, and pain. That scream was enough for the God of Wolves to forget all about Star and turned around to meet him. As soon as the wolf turned around, it was hit by one of Marco’s weapons to the right eye, a scythe tied up to his chains. With one strong pull. Marco jumped towards the wolf and drove his second scythe into the other eye. Marco began attacking the wolf’s face, trying to cut open the skull. The beast wasn’t done yet. The wolf was quick to shake Marco off. Marco landed on his face and as he was about to get up. A giant paw descended on his left arm, crushing it underneath.

Now with the target trapped. The beast was ready to tear him in two, but Marco beat it to the offensive. Reaching out for his regular sword strapped to his left side. Marco was able to cut the wolf’s leg with one swift move of his sword, freeing him instantly. It was this moment that Marco needed. Exactly the moment when the wolf lost its footing. Marco was able to strike at its neck and then focused all his might into cutting it from ear to ear. This looked about it. The God of Wolves was blind, missing a leg, and his throat cut open. But none of that dropped him down, neither did it stopped Marco, they both wanted to keep fighting.

Star was frozen in place since she heard Marco’s scream. Only able to watch the fight unfold in front of her eyes. Her heart almost stopped when Marco got trapped under the giant wolf. And now she was horrified at the turn this fight took if she could call this a fight anymore. They were just wailing at each other with no rhyme or reason. The hunt was over, it was just a matter of waiting for the wolf to fall dead, they were just making their injuries worse now. She could see this coming from a mindless animal, but Marco?

Star has never seen Marco like this before. So angry, so careless, so… wrong. This was wrong, this wasn’t her best friend. “Marco… Marco… MARCO!” She ran towards him and hugged him by the waist trying to calm him down. “It’s dead, Marco! You won already! Please, stop.”

Her words managed to snap him back to reality. Indeed, the beast was dead already. He had been stabbing a dead body for a while now. This didn’t calm him at all, it just made him stop. The tonic was starting to fade out and his mind began to gain some clarity, still, it will take a while for it to truly fade away. Star turned him around to meet his eyes and was scared at the sight of Marco’s bloodshot eyes.

“What’s wrong with you?! Don’t you cared about anything no more?!” She was more scared than angry right now. “You almost died back there, just, what were you thinking?”

“What was I thinking?! What were you thinking, missing that shot?!” He broke free of Star’s grip and began shouting at her. “The thing was right in front of you and it wasn’t moving! I couldn’t give it to you on a bigger silver platter.” Marco began to rub his temples as if annoyed by her. “If you want to come to this adventures. You need to be ready to do what’s necessary!”

Taken aback by his words. “You mean. You have done it before?” Star never thought about this before, not even when Marco asked her if she would be able to do it.

“Killing?! Of course, I have done it, Star! All beasts like this one.” Even if Marco was under his magic-induced rage. He wasn’t lying about this. All his previous kills were beasts and monstrosities, all mindless abominations. “You need to be able to take that step on this job. Now I see you can’t do it.”

Not like all of that mattered to Star right now. Killing like this didn’t feel right for her, especially after witnessing all that. “How… how can you be so fine with all of this?” That’s was the one thing she needed to know right now. “All of that.” She pointed at the dead wolf in front of them. “You weren’t fighting. You only punched each other like stupid beasts. You’re not like this!”

“Newsflash, Star, I’m like this!” Star was surprised by his words. “I like going after bad guys and turning them in. I like fighting to the death with this beasts. I enjoyed the hell out of my fight with this giant wolf. I loved all of this, it makes me feel alive like nothing has ever done it before. I’m not a stupid safe kid. I’m a badass bounty hunter, and if you don’t like it, then, just don’t come with me to my next run!”

Still horrified at the words coming out of Marco’s mouth. Star could only muster a single response. “You’re not Marco.”

Confused now. “I’m Marco, what do you mean?”

“YOU’RE NOT!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “You just look like him!” She pushed him back. “Marco is not a heartless killer like you! He is kind and always worries about the people he loves.” She pushed him back again before continuing. “My Marco always makes time for me and would never say those things!” She dried her tears and looked down. “My… My Marco… He… Marco?” She then looked up and was frozen in place by what she saw. “You’re bleeding.”

“Well, yeah, I just got into a fight with a giant wolf.” It will take a little while for his pain to come back, but he was sure he must be full of injuries.

“It’s not that… It’s your eyes.” Star conjure a mirror with her wand for Marco to see himself.

Indeed, every blood vessel inside of Marco’s eyes had popped, and he was now bleeding from them. Just when he was beginning to think it was weird that he was seeing more red by the minute. It was thanks to the tonics. They were already taking a toll on his body, and if left unattended, could leave irreparable damage in his body. Good thing he was ready for that.

Marco took the flask with the clear liquid out of his belt and drank it. This one wasn’t a tonic, but an antidote for the rest of the tonics, it helped him ease the side effects while cutting the effects short. He drank it in one go and quickly regretted it. When the antidote took effect, all of the pain sensations that ran all over his body reached his brain in an instant. He grabbed his side with his right arm and collapsed to his knees, screaming. He tried standing up by holding onto Star with his left arm, just for the pain to remind him that his left arm was broken.

Star sprang into action right now. She was so shaken before that she completely ignored their injuries. “Marco, hold onto me. I’ll take you back home.” Maybe Glossarick would be able to help out. She grabbed Marco’s scissors and opened up a portal to her room.

Now back on Earth. Marco knew what to do. “Star… just…” Star didn’t let him finish before speaking up.

“Don’t speak now. Just don’t pass out and trust me. Trust my magic.” She was trying to look confident right now. But in reality, she was scared and still shaken about everything that happened. She needed to act fast now. Marco was in a lot of pain, and probably needed the kind of medical help he won’t find on Earth. “GLOSSARICK!!!” Her screams woke up the tiny blue man living inside her spell book.

“Now, Princess, what could be so important as to wake me…” He was cut short by the sight in front of him. Star looked all rough up with her hair a mess and several cuts and bruises across her body. Marco was clinging into Star trying to stand up, face covered in blood, and his left arm twisted the wrong way. He let out a small sigh before speaking up. “This is going to be a long afternoon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two points here:
> 
> I like suiting up montages and coming up with Marco's equipment was really fun. Don't do magical drugs, btw.
> 
> What was the deal with that huge wolf thing in that episode!? It came out of nowhere and scared the crap out of me! Maybe that's why it was so easy coming up with a backstory.


	5. Spelling Out the Truth.

Marco was now pass out, thanks to Glossarick's treatment, and sleeping on top of a white sheet on the floor, while Star and the blue man were looking all over the book for something to help them heal Marco’s wounds. “These spells are all useless!” Star was frustrated at the futility of their search. “All of them are for ‘treatment’ or ‘slow recovery’ and ‘too dangerous to push the limits of the body’ kind of nonsense. Where are all the fast healing spells?”

Knowing that Star was desperate for answers. “Now, Princess, all of the spells on the Healing Chapter of the book are one hundred percent functional. You can’t just jam some magic into the boy’s body and hope his wounds heal. Healing takes care, patience, and…”

“And things we don’t have right now! I already know how to heal a broken arm. How hard can it be to heal the rest of Marco’s wounds?” She stated the obvious to the tiny man.

Knowing all about that little incident. “Yeah, and how much time did it take you to master it? And I say master, but all you did was turn a monster arm into a human one in the end. Healing spells are too advance for you. Sticking with the basics is your best option right now.”

In a fit of anger, Star threw the book towards the wall, leaving it open on a chapter that she has never seen before. “Wow, neat skull. What is that?”

Glossarick floated towards the book, trying to cover it. “Don’t think you should see this one. It’s the most dangerous chapter in the book it shouldn’t even be there.” He grabbed the book and closed it up.

Intrigued now. “Does it have any healing spells? Let me read it.” She tried taking the book away from Glossarick.

“Yes it does, and I don’t think you should read it.” He got in her face before continuing. “It could taint you.” He kept himself at arm’s reach trying to keep the book away from Star.

Star got angrier by the second. The answers she needed could be inside that chapter, no, they were inside there she was sure of it. “Glossarick, we don’t have time. Marco’s wounds need to be treated right now!” She sat on her knees and started begging. “Please, I’m only asking that you show me the healing spells, nothing else.”

He had to acknowledge that point. The boy looked too far gone that Glossarick had doubts t the normal spells would work right now. Besides, he would be right next to Star if anything bad happens. Against his better judgment. “Alright, Star, I’ll open it up, for you.” He unlocked the chapter and before turning the page he referred to Star once more. “Now, I’ll let you have a quick peek. That should give you enough information to…” Right there, Glossarick got a call.

“Oh, Magic Bureaucracy.” After some talking to himself. “Star, I have to leave you for a while. Just wait for me and don’t turn the page.” With that said. Glossarick’s eyes turned black and his body floated away.

Confused, to say the least. Star screamed. “WHAT?!” She began shaking his lifeless body in a panic. “Goddammit, Glossarick!” She let him go and sat on the floor beside the sleeping Marco. He was still full of dirt and his face covered in dry blood. Glossarick had helped her remove his jacket and close his wounds with several tourniquets and bandages, and his eyes stop bleeding long ago. “Goddammit, Marco. I hope I can help you right now.” She looked at him with sadness in her eyes, and then at the spell book with the dark chapter open.

Knowing she could help Marco and that nothing was stopping her. “Well, I’m sure Glossarick knew I would read it without him.” She reached out for that page, taking a few seconds to hesitate before turning the page.

Star tried finding the right spell for the job, skipping all the other, unrelated, spells. After some time, she managed to cut down her options to a few that might help her right now. First, there was this ‘Possession Spell’ where an evil spirit will possess a living body, healing all the damage so it could be a fitting vessel, the wand wielder would just need to get rid of the spirit before it binds to the soul. The second option was to create a voodoo doll, real size, of Marco, and then transfer all of the injuries to the doll. Third one needed a lot of fresh blood to work, a ton of it, but after that, it was fairly easy to do. It consisted of writing several symbols on his body and praying to some elder god. The last option was one of luck. The book contained a passage about summoning the Wheel of Fate, essentially, you asked for something and then spin the wheel to determinate the punishment you will receive for having it granted.

Thinking about it for a while. She was already worn out, so getting into a fight with an evil spirit right now wasn’t a good idea. There wasn’t enough meat and Marco’s hair to create a life-size doll of him, she also didn’t have any living wood lying around. She didn’t know where she would find all the blood she needed for the third spell, especially on a Friday afternoon, besides, she couldn’t even pronounce the ancient chant. Last option would have to do the work.

Doing the necessary preparations. Star wrote her wish on a piece of paper. “Heal all of Marco’s wounds.” She then cleared the room, the book specifies that you need a big enough area to summon The Wheel, and then say the magic words. “I want to try my luck on the Wheel of Fate.” Suddenly, all the lights when out, totally blinding Star, and a pair of spotlights turned on, one pointing right at Star and Marco, the other at a huge spinning wheel with two decaying zombies, one male dressed in suit holding a microphone and a female one in a night dress missing her lower jaw, by its side. Right now Star noticed that the piece of paper had vanished from her hand and was now being held by the male zombie.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to another rendition of THE WHEEL. OF. FATE!!!” A crowd began screaming alongside him and then began to cheer, or at least, that’s what Star was hearing right now, even if she couldn’t see any other people in the room apart from her, Marco, and the two zombies. “I’m your host, Krell the undead, first poor schmuck that span the wheel, and our guest for tonight is…” He approached Star and shoved the microphone on her face.

Confused now. “S… Star Butterfly.” The zombie then yanked the microphone away from her and walked towards Marco.

“Goodnight Star and I presume this handsome fellow laying on the ground is your boyfriend?” The whole audience went crazy at that. “Oh, young love, one of the things that I miss the most being an undead trapped by this wheel.” And the audience laughed at his words.

“What?! No, he is my friend, and I called you here to…” Krell span to her side and continue teasing.

“Oh, yes! Your ‘friend’, I bet you want us to make him fall madly in love with you.” His words and the audience reaction made Star blush like crazy.

“No! You have my wish on your hands just read it!” She was trying to move all of this along as fast as possible.

“Geez, girl, I just wanted to make you laugh, may be the last time you can. Now let’s see…” He began reading the piece of paper. “Aw, this little girl wants us to heal up her boyfriend’s wounds. Been awhile since we had a noble wish.”

Not wanting to argue anymore, Star asked. “Yes! Can you do it?”

“I don’t know, CAN WE DO IT, FOLKS?!” The whole audience answered. “OF COURSE!” And Krell then asked. “But will we do it for free?!” Again, the audience screamed. “HELL NO!!!” And everybody laughed, except Star. “Yes, you see, Star. The Wheel of Fate can grant you any wish, but first, you will need to spin The Wheel and figure out what punishment you will face. We get that, The Wheel will make your wish reality and you’ll face your punishment. Are you sure you want to do this?!” He put the microphone near Star to hear her answer.

Looking at the Wheel of Fate. Star could see the Wheel separated into several sections, with the punishments written in ultra-tiny letters. This was all a test of luck, and Star didn’t feel that confident about it, but Marco was in need of help right now. “I’ll do it!” She said full of determination and walked towards the Wheel, ready to spin it.

Star’s hands were stopped by Krell’s assistant. “Now, Star, you may not have heard me. You spin that wheel, there’s no coming back, your fate will be set and there’s no running away from it.” Krell gave her one last warning, and chance to back down. Star just stared him down.

“I’m sure about this. I’ll save Marco.” Krell just sighed and directed himself towards the audience.

“SHE IS GOING TO DO IT!!!” All the audience cheer her up. “SPIN IT, SPIN IT, SPIN IT!!!!”

Star took the handle and spun the wheel as hard as she could. For the first few seconds, Star was ready to face whatever the wheel told her too after those had passed, she began to seriously worry. Star didn’t know too much about the punishments, but she had to presume there were some horrific ones waiting for her. As the wheel began to slow down. Star closed her eyes, full of fear.

The whole audience gasped and the announcer spoke up. “And here you have it, folks. In between ‘losing your ability to perceive the color purple’ and ‘getting killed by your worst fears’. We have your punishment, Star Butterfly.” Star still couldn’t open her eyes. “You will tell only the truth for three whole days!” Confused, Star opened up her eyes to confirm that.

Indeed, written on blue flaming letters on the air it said that the wheel had given her that, random, punishment. “That’s it?”

“Well, it is a luck game with almost an infinite amount of results. You just got lucky this time. It’s been awhile since we had such a lax punishment, to be honest. But now, LET THE MAGIC BEGIN!!!” From the center of the wheel. A magic lightning shot towards Marco, and another towards Star. As Marco’s wounds began to close up and his broken arm got fixed. Star could feel a knot forming in her throat, but nothing else.

Once everything was done, Krell talked again. “That’s it for us folks. But stay tuned for next time, and we will see you, judging by the number of idiots with idiotic wishes out there, very soon!” On that last note. The audience began to clap, and soon enough, the lights went dark again before getting turned back on and leaving the room like it was before. No more wheel or zombies. Just Star and Marco there. She quickly ran towards him to see if anything was fine.

Checking all over his body. Star couldn’t find any injuries, not even scars could be seen. Sure now that Marco was fine, she began shaking him awake. It didn’t take long for him to open his eyes and look confused. “Star?” He looked around. “What happened?” Remembering something important he jumped up and put his guard up. “Where’s that giant wolf?”

“You killed it a while ago, I took you here to tend to your wounds, and then I healed you with the help of some zombies and a fortune wheel.” She delivered those facts with the most serious tone she could muster right now.

Marco couldn’t process that last part of her sentence as he remembered everything that happened. He began to panic at how much Star must hate him right now after he told her all those horrible things. “Star, I’m sorry about all that happened back there. I hope you can forgive me about…”

Star was quick to shut him up. “It’s fine Marco. I was just horrified when I saw you stabbing that dead wolf over and over. Don’t worry, the fear is gone already but that image will haunt me in my nightmares forever.” It took the both of them a while to process those words. “Wait! It’s just that I’m worried about you and how easy you put your life at risk when on your bounty hunting jobs! It’s not only that I’m scared of this new face of you that I saw.” She face-palm before adding. “Look, I better stay quiet for, like, three days.”

Marco was taken aback by her words. He was sure that this was a worse twist than having Star hating him. “Are you… are you really scared of me?”

Star couldn’t contain the truth. “Of course I am, Marco! You blew up at me. I was sure you would hit me or something. I couldn’t really be sure after I saw you going crazy on that beast!” Marco was feeling awful at everything he did. Maybe Star could use the truth to appease him. “But no mattered how scared I felt. It was nothing compared to how scared I was when I almost lost you back there.”

“What do you mean?” Marco was feeling fine right now, but he remembered all the pain he was feeling earlier and knew Star healed him. But, was he really that injured?

“Marco, I had to make the worst deal of my life just to heal your wounds. All of that because I care about you.” She just felt compelled to tell the truth and wasn’t bothering to keep her words in check. “All the things I said back there were caused by the shock of the moment, I know you're still my best friend and I l...” It was then that Glossarick went back to normal and spoke to them.

“Wow, that was annoying. How are you two doing now?” He approached the spell book, still open on the dark chapter. “I take it you saw all of this. How are you feeling?”

“It wasn’t that much, to be honest. I did manage to save Marco though.” She signaled to the boy in front of her.

Closing the book, Glossarick floated towards the teenagers. “And how are you both feeling?” He had different reasons to worry about the two of them.

“I’m feeling fine. Don’t know why you made such a big deal of that chapter.” He was happy hearing those words coming from Star. The chapter hadn’t tainted her at all.

Looking sad now, even after hearing Star’s speech. “I’m… well, I don’t have any wounds right now, but I’m exhausted.” Marco was still shocked at Star’s words and felt like the worst person in the world right now. Even if her shock had disappeared already, it was obvious she wasn't going to forget it anytime soon. He hurt his friend, no other way to put it.

“Now, boy, you had someone else worried to death about you, apart from Star.” Marco gave him a confused look. “Not me! I knew Star would find a way to help you. I’m talking about another girl, she told me to tell you she was going to visit you later. I was surprised that she wanted to see you again.” Another confused look from Marco later and Glossarick excused him out. “Star and I need to talk about how she saved you, so you can get out now.”

Marco just took his leave and closed the door behind him. He already had too much on his mind, thanks to Star, to focus on what Glossarick said. He arrived in his room, took off all of his equipment and dirty clothes, leaving him only in his boxers. He then threw himself towards his bed and closed his eyes, trying to find some inner peace. In came Heckapoo, emerging from a portal in the middle of his room.

The first thing she noticed was the almost naked Marco on the bed. “Nice view, man.” Marco jumped up and cover himself with the bed sheets.

“What are you doing here? And why are you in your pajamas?” He noticed that she was wearing the same black pajamas that she wore during Star’s sleepover, and yes, she had her own pillow under her arm.

“Well, Glossarick mentioned during a meeting that you were injured, so I thought about throwing you a visit, and then I thought, why don’t we have our own sleepover?” She threw her pillow right at him and then herself to the bed. “Now, tell me, what happened?”

Having some doubts about telling her everything, Marco tried to evade her interrogation. “Can I take a shower first?”

Giving him a chuckle and a smile. “Sure. I’ll just wait here.” He got up and made his way towards the restroom with a change of clothes at hand. Heckapoo just admired the view as he made his exit.

Back to Star’s room. “So, you made a deal with the Wheel of Fate, and the only thing that happened is that you can’t lie for three days?”

Answering Glossarick’s question without problem. “That’s right. By the way, I can smell your bad breath all the way from here.” She didn’t think about the words she said, she just said them. “What can I do about it?”

“Well, keeping your mouth shut is a good option. If that doesn’t work. Avoid attracting attention to yourself. That way nobody will ask you any questions.”

“That’s a terrible advice.” Another case of the truth slipping out.

“Well, either that, or you can try and contain the truth. It can hurt people you know?” Glossarick tried faking to look hurt. “Nah, can’t do it. Take it from one person that never lies. You can try and hold facts. Saying a half-truth isn’t lying.” He smiled at her.

“That actually sounds like a good idea. Let’s practice.” The both of them sat down and began practicing.

Thinking about something to ask her. “Ok, do you know who ate all the pudding I stashed in the fridge?”

“Of course I know. Marco and I did.” Well, she failed this time.

“I KNEW IT!” He composed himself before continuing. “Let’s try again. Something simple this time. Do you have a favorite snack?”

“Duh, Marco’s nachos!” Glossarick face palmed.

“This is going to be a long…” He checked his watch. “Night.” And then let out a huge sigh.

While the two of them were busy training Star to say half-truths. Marco and Heckapoo were sitting on his bed talking. Marco had just finished telling Heckapoo everything that happened on his hunt and his little talk with Star after waking up. “What’s your take on this?”

Processing all the information she just heard. “It’s understandable that she was scared. I was the same the first time I saw you on Red Rage. And my heart dropped when I had to take you to the medic after your tonic overdose. Get what I’m saying?”

It was obvious what she meant. “Star is not scared of me, but for me.”

“Yeah, that about sums it up. Look, I know you do this for the thrills, I’m like that too. But you do take it up to eleven sometimes, don’t you think?” She was worried about him, both as a partner in battle and a friend. “I mean, we were fine just going around and fighting monstrosities on the wild by ourselves. You were the one that wanted to join the guild. We could go back to that.” She gave him a worried look. “At least drop the tonics. You were fine before them.”

Marco was thinking hard right now. Maybe this was a wakeup call to stop with all of this. He already gave Star the scare of a lifetime. “You’re right. It was never for the money or the glory, just the fun of it. And I get all the fun I want hanging out with you and Star.” Right there, after saying that. Heckapoo slapped him on the back of the head. “What was that for!?”

“For making me blush.” And she laughed. With Marco smiling embarrassedly. “Now, it’s late, let’s go to sleep.” She laid down and covered herself with the bed sheets. She looked up and saw Marco blushing hard. “What? Never had a girl sleep next to you? Just imagine I’m your bunny plushy.” That statement didn’t help Marco’s blush fade away. “Come here.” Heckapoo raised her arms, inviting Marco to a hug, and he complied. “You worry me half to death for a second. I’m just glad you’re here with me.” They hugged there peacefully. Heckapoo went to sleep first, and even when Marco had difficulties, he eventually went to sleep shortly after.

After a while, not a sound could be heard coming from Marco’s room. The same couldn’t be said about Star’s room. A few hours later and Star wasn’t any closer to her goal. “Of course I fed all the warnicorns chocolate before going away. They love it.”

“Ok, Princess here is where I draw the line. I’m tired, the High Commission was boring, and I just want to go to sleep.” None of that was a lie. Glossarick began to make his way towards the book.

“Wait! What I’m supposed to do?” Star began to panic. What if she says something that ruins her friendship with Marco? More than she has done already.

“Keep. Your mouth. Shut. The best advice I can give you in my current mental state.” And he escaped to the spell book for a good night of rest.

Now all alone. Star began to think about everything that happened. How is Marco feeling right now? She said some awful things back there and was sure that he must be hurt right now. Not like he didn’t say some awful things himself back there. They both need to sit down and talk about everything that happened. “I need some cereal.” Star acted on her craving and went downstairs to get a bowl of cereal.

She first made sure that Marco was sleeping, he hates when she takes some of his cereal without asking. There he was, sleeping peacefully all alone in his bed. She could continue on her way towards the kitchen. As she made her turn to enter the kitchen, Star met Heckapoo face to face, she was eating a bowl of cereal herself. “Hey, Star, you also want something to eat?”

Surprised now, Star could only muster. “Yes, some cereal. What are you doing here?”

“I threw Marco a surprise sleepover. I can fix you a bowl if you want?” Star was taken aback by her words. The tone of her voice didn’t help either.

“Sure I want one, thanks.” It didn’t take long for her bowl to be ready and for Star to begin digging in. “Hey, can I ask you a question?” This came more out of her curiosity than her inability to lie. Heckapoo nodded and Star asked away. “How did Marco reacted? Seeing you come in your pajamas and all.” She chuckled a bit trying to imagine Marco’s face.

Chuckling a bit herself, Heckapoo answered. “What do you think? A whole lot of blushing and few words. It was cute, to say the least.” Both girls laughed at that. “Now, can I ask you something?” Star nodded in response. “Did he talked about me while I was away?”

Not like she could say anything else but the truth right now. “Yeah, he told me he was thinking about asking you out.”

Heckapoo smiled at that, a warm smile that she suddenly dropped. “You know how long has been since a guy asked me out?” Receiving a blank stare from Star, she continued. “A long time, and it wasn’t even a good date. Now I have Marco head over heels for me. I mean, is not that I’m not interested. It’s just that I have a hard time seeing us going out together.” She began to look worried and sad about all of this.

“Hey, don’t worry about what may happen. Focus on making it work, and it will.” Maybe this whole truth thing was giving Star some unexpected insight on life, or maybe she always had this good relationship advice hidden inside of her.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sure we will make a cute couple. Want another bowl?” While they were talking both of them had finished their cereal and Star didn’t even notice it.

“Sure!” Star handed her bowl to Heckapoo and she began to fill them up again. It was there that Star was able to see Heckapoo’s body. It was easier now that she was wearing her pajamas. If Jackie had a good body, Heckapoo’s was an upgrade on all the aspects. Bigger… curves and filled out on all the important places. The Jackie comparison wasn’t out of nowhere. She and Jackie are the only girls that she knows Marco is attracted to. With those two examples. It was obvious to deduct Marco’s taste in women. A whole different kind of body type from her own.

Star felt a bit down at her thoughts. Especially when she began comparing herself to Heckapoo. “Star, your bowl is ready.” Her words snapped Star out of her thoughts.

Trying to compose herself, Star took the bowl. “Sorry, I was busy looking at your boobs.” Her words shocked both girls on the kitchen. “I’m going to eat this in my room!” And Star made her way upstairs, leaving behind a confused Heckapoo.

The last girl on the kitchen looked down at her chest before saying. “I do have big boobs.” And she continued eating her cereal before going back to sleep, not letting herself feel awkward by Star’s comment.

The next morning was Saturday, so no school. The teenagers and their guest were eating breakfast and talking between themselves. Marco and Star still had some business to talk about, but Heckapoo was keeping their minds occupy right now. It was when Star and Marco were doing the dishes, and Heckapoo was resting in the living room, that Marco whispered to Star. “I think I’m gonna do it, Star.”

“Do what?” Star was half hearing, busy cleaning the dishes with her magic.

“You know, ask Heckapoo on a date. I can’t let this opportunity escape.” He had been waiting for her to be free of her work to ask her out, but seeing how she was hanging out with them already, Why don’t take advantage of the moment?

“Well, go ahead, I’ll take care of the dishes.”

“You think it’s a good idea, we are in our pajamas?” Maybe he was worrying for nothing. Marco was sure she would say yes already, but he still felt his lack of confidence.

“You two slept together last night. I think that’s not a problem.” And Star pointing the obvious wasn’t helping. He still couldn’t believe that happened.

“Ok, I’m gonna do it. Wish me luck.” He left the rest of the dishes for Star and made his way towards the living room. It didn’t take long for Star to finish her work but decided to stay in the kitchen and give Marco some more time. She didn’t hear anything for a few minutes, and then she could only hear laughter. It was Heckapoo’s laughs that filled the living room.

Did something go wrong? Marco may not be the best when it came to dealing with girls. But to have Heckapoo laugh at him after asking her out? Didn’t she say last night she was interested in him? Getting angry now, Star began to walk towards the living room. She was about to let Heckapoo have it. Who does she think she is playing with Marco’s feelings like that? What right does she have to laugh at him when he is confessing his feeling for her?

As soon as she entered the living room, her anger skyrocket. Marco was covering his mouth and looking awfully embarrassed while Heckapoo was holding her stomach laughing out loud. Just as Star was about scream at her, Heckapoo spoke up. “Star! Come here you need to see this.” She signaled to Marco and then spun him around for Star to see. Surprised now, Star could see what was so funny, perhaps, maybe, not sure. Marco had a tiny head coming out of the left side of his neck. “It’s a naysaya!” Heckapoo exclaimed.

Heckapoo was able to calm down enough to explain what was going on. Turns out a naysaya it’s a kind of curse placed by a demon and that it won’t go away till it reveals all of Marco’s secrets and insecurities to the world. Star thought it was a big coincidence that both of them won’t be able to lie for a while. Marco was so embarrassed that his crush heard some of his most embarrassing secrets and retreated to his room. With Heckapoo and Star on the other side of the door trying to cheer him up.

“Marco, I’m sorry I laughed back there. I really am. Please open the door.” There was no response from the other side. “What do you think, Star?”

Star was worried about Marco right now. Everything that happened yesterday, the wolf, their fight, and its aftermath. Discovering he is cursed, plus having your crush hear all of that just when he was about to ask her out can’t be comforting at all. “I think we better leave him alone for a while.”

“What do you mean?” It was confusing hearing that coming from the guy’s best friend.

“Well, he had a harsh day yesterday and then this. Let’s just give him some time alone, at least till we figure out what to do.” She may be talking about herself now too. No matter how much she wanted to apologize for what she said and did yesterday, the shock was still too fresh for both of them to tackle the issue. “I can ask Glossarick what to do, and you can investigate on your own how to lift the curse.”

She was having a hard time accepting this. Heckapoo needed to know what she meant. “I don’t know what happen to you on your little quest. Tell me all about it. Don’t hold back on anything, I want to know everything that happened.”

Right there and there. Star retold the events that happened while she and Marco were out on their hunt. How it was that she asked to be brought along and not to tell her anything about it. The way they ran into, and then fought, the God of Wolves on their own, and how disturbed she was seeing him fight like a maniac. Finally, Star spoke of their fight, how she was really able to heal him and then their second argument that day. Heckapoo was more surprised and worried with every passing sentence. It was after Star finished, that Marco opened his room door and stepped out.

“So that’s why you been acting so strange since I woke up. Star, that was super risky, even for you. You could have died spinning that wheel.” It was after Marco finished speaking that the extra head growing from his neck said something weird about him, but everybody ignored it.

“I know that, but I couldn’t just leave you like that. YOU could have died too.” Star was so sure about her words that she didn’t need her curse to say that.

“Look, Star, I know how you felt back there. But you two should have contacted me for this job if it was that dangerous. I also would have felt horrible if something were to happen to Marco or you for that matter.”

It suddenly clicked for Marco. Hearing those two worrying about him made him realize how selfish he has been to the two of them. Maybe this naysaya thing wasn’t a curse, well it was a curse, but it was also a chance. A chance for him to come clean to the two girls that matter the most in his life. “This thing won’t go away till my secrets are revealed, right?” Heckapoo nodded. “Well, then, we three better get comfortable.” All of them got inside his room. Marco sat by the bedside and the girls on the floor in front of him.

Marco proceeded to confess all of his secrets. It started with the weirder and silliest ones of his secrets, but it quickly went towards the most private ones he had. He did all of it to demonstrate his honesty. The girls heard all of it with their utmost seriousness. They didn’t laugh about it nor did they judge him for anything he said.

“Heckapoo…” This was a bit harder to say out loud. “I enjoy spending time with you, and I love going on dangerous adventures and the like. But, if you think that I’m just risking my life out there for no reason. I’m fine toning down the danger a bit I’ll even stop with the tonics from now on.” Heckapoo let out a small sigh of relief. “Oh, and, I wreck my gear in the fight, again… sorry.” And she just rolled her eyes in annoyance.

It was at the end of his secrets that Marco was ready to speak up about what was troubling him so much since yesterday. “And Star…” The girl made sure to pay full attention to his following words. “I’m sorry about scaring you. You were right, that wasn’t me, and I don’t think you’re a problem or that you get in my way. You’re my best friend and I like having you around, even if it’s not on adventures or across dimensions. Also, thank you for healing me and taking that huge risk for me. You’re an amazing friend.” They both smiled at that.

Star missed no time answering back. “Thanks, Marco. I’m also sorry about the things I said. It was the shock of the moment speaking. And I’m not really scared of you. I was just worried about what may happen to you.” They both felt a warm feeling inside of their hearts. Like a huge weight was lifted from them.

“And… well…” Marco began looking more nervous right now. Like he had another thing he needed to get out of his chest. “I… would really love to… you know… if you’re free one of this days…” Even if he had the courage to tell all of his insecurities right there, this still troubleed him. “Would you like to go out with me… like… on a date?” Everybody got quiet there, even naysaya, not that it had anything else to say now.

Thinking back a bit. It had been too long since she had been on a date with someone. She had known Marco for a while now and knew him better than most even if the two of them didn’t hit it off at the beginning, yet, his question took her by surprise. Not like it bothered her to be honest. Marco was a great guy, funny, intelligent, brave, and a kind person in general, also handsome, in her eyes. It may be weird with the two of them being from different dimensions and with such contrasting personalities. But what the hell, it was better to give it a shot than to regret it later on. But before Star could say yes, Heckapoo spoke up and stole her answer.

“I’ll love to go out with you Marco.” And Heckapoo stood up and held hands with Marco, the two of them got lost in each other’s eyes. It was there that Marco’s second head retreated back to his neck, disappearing for good.

Seeing them together, Star remembered that she and Marco weren’t alone in the room. She could swear for a second there that his words were meant for her. “But, can we do it tomorrow? I mean, we are in our pajamas, and I still have some work to do.” Yeah, it would be weird for Marco to asked Star out, isn’t it? They are best friends! Not like he could see her like he sees Heckapoo. “I’ll take your gear back home to fix it.” It took a while for Marco and Heckapoo to gather everything she was going to take back home and the two of them said their goodbyes, she even kissed him on the cheek before going away.

Star was still sitting on the floor while all of that happened, just looking at the couple moving around with a blank expression on her face. And, for some reason, a huge knot fell on her stomach when she saw Marco being kissed on the cheek. As the two of them remained in that room. Star decided to leave Marco alone with his happy moment.

“You heard that Star?” Marco spun around and realized he was alone in his room. “Star?” He walked out to the hallway just to hear Star’s room door closed. He thought they already patched things up back there. Why would she get out like that without saying anything? He approached the door and knocked on it gently. “Star? Are you alright?”

Inside her room, Star was laying on her bed with her headphones on. Just lying there, listening to music with the volume way up. When she realized that she could still hear Marco knocking on her door asking if she was fine, she just up the volume to maximum. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she at least learned how to keep her words in check. And she was going to need it, it hadn’t even been a day with her curse.

After some minutes with no response, Marco was even more worried about Star. Maybe she didn’t want to say something embarrassing like he did, so she was avoiding people for a while. He retreated back to his room and went on his day as normal, but he never once spoke with Star the rest of the day. He didn’t even see her once, although, he did hear her moving around her room so he knew she was at least home. By the end of the day, Marco received a text from Heckapoo asking if the date was still up. He answered yes, and they both agree to meet after twelve in his house and then take it from there. Marco hoped Star would feel better by then, he would feel awful leaving Star all alone and go have fun without her.

Tomorrow came quick. Star was feeling a bit better by now, but she still couldn’t figure out what was bothering her so much. She was now downstairs watching TV when Marco enter through the kitchen. “Hey, you feeling better?”

“A bit.” Star may have sounded cold right now, but in reality, she was trying to keep her words in check as to not say something she would regret. “Are you still going out?”

“Yes, she will be here at twelve.” Star face dropped a bit there, so obviously feeling sad. “Hey, if you are still feeling down I can cancel it. I don’t have a problem helping you with whatever is troubling you.”

Star jumped a little at his words. “What? No, Marco, you’ve been wanting this date for a while. Don’t let me stop you from enjoying it.” Another thing she didn’t want was to be a burden to her friend.

He wouldn’t have bought that if Star wasn’t unable to lie right now. But he still knew there was something else here. “Look, just tell me what’s wrong.”

Looking down now, Star tried hard to answer without saying the first thing that came to mind. “I… don’t want to answer that.” Maybe she could have chosen better, but she needed only to tell the truth, not answer every question she was asked. She did notice that her words didn’t appease Marco in the slightest though. “I don’t want something like Friday happening again just because I can’t measure my words. Can we please just avoid the sensitive topics for a while?”

He wasn’t aware that asking if there was something wrong counted as a sensitive topic. “Only if you promise me that you’ll be alright while I’m out.”

“I’ll be alright while you’re on your date. I promise.” She delivered that promise with the coldest tone she could muster, just to get Marco off her back right now.

“Fine. I was just worried about you.” It’s not that he felt annoyed by her, just that he thought that after their apologies were said that everything would be back to normal for the two of them. Again, he was in a similar situation like her just yesterday, maybe he should cut her some slack.

It was then that Heckapoo entered the living room using one of her portals. She was wearing her usual dress. “Hey, guys!” She waved at them and Star waved back. “Ready for our date Marco?”

“Sure. Where do you want to go?” Marco had no idea where to take a girl that has been everywhere in the multi-universe so he’d leave that decision to her.

“Why don’t you take me around your town? I have never been here before.” That was as good an idea as any. And maybe taking the simple option was better right now, he did promise to tone the danger down from now on.

“Then it settled, let’s go. See you later Star.” He said his goodbyes to Star and they both left the house.

Star sat staring at the TV and wondering what was wrong with her. It couldn’t be her fight with Marco two days ago, they already patched thing up there. She thought about it for a long time, all the while staying home. She walked around downstairs, playing with the puppies and fixing herself some lunch while pondering about it. She soon walked upstairs and began pacing around her room, just trying to find the answer to her problem. “Hey, Princess!”

“Oh, hello Glossarick.” Star didn’t give that much attention to the blue man that came out of the book to speak to her.

“Problems?” He was cutting the Princess some slack given that he knew she couldn’t lie right now.

“Yes.” She said only that and continue walking. It was after a few seconds that she realized that may have come out a bit rude. “Sorry, is just, there’s something bothering me, and I don’t know what it is.”

“Well, are Marco and you fighting about something?” Star nodded in disagreement. “Did Marco said something that angered you and you’re waiting for him to apologize?” Another nod to the sides. “Perhaps you’re just missing him?”

Stopping in her tracks, Star answered. “Nah, we already patched things up yesterday. Why are all your options Marco related?”

“Cmon, Princess…” He shot Star an incredulous look, like waiting for her to admit to something. Letting out a sigh in annoyance after she didn’t say anything, Glossarick continued. “Why don’t you use your little curse to find the answer?”

Intrigued now. “And how would I come around to do it?” Star sat on her knees and awaited that response.

Clearing his throat. “The truth shall set you free!” He screamed, surprising Star. “Taking it in a more literal sense. People carry a ton of insecurities and mental baggage around all the time. Few have the power or courage, to face it and/or say them out loud.” He realized how lost Star was looking right now, so maybe a metaphor will help. “Imagine that something horrible happens to you. Your mind will sometimes adapt to make you avoid, subconsciously, anything that relates or reminds you of that thing that happened. Is a way to protect you from the pain.”

Thinking for a moment. “So my mind will try and protect me from things that may harm me? Sounds weird for my mind to have a mind of its own.”

“You’re getting the principle, that’s what matters. Now, imagine that your mind knows how much a truth will hurt you. So the only thing it can do is to confuse your conscious mind in order for you to drop the topic.” Let’s hope Star can follow.

“So, I’m basically lying to myself.” Before Glossarick could speak up. “No! I’m hiding the truth from myself.” Her words made the blue man smile.

“Correct! But you’re now speaking only but the truth. We can use that and figure what’s wrong with you.” Star stood up, ready to face the truth.

“Awesome! What spell are we using?” She began to jump up and down in place.

“None!” Glossarick summoned, in a puff of smoke, a huge couch under Star, in which the Princess fell down facing up, and a notebook and pencil for himself. “We are going to use basic psychology!”

“What? Like Dr. Marco?” The only other time she has heard those words.

Sputtering a bit. “Dr. Marco, let the real psychology to the people that know about it. The boy isn’t even a doctor. Neither am I, but I have a ton more experience than him.” He floated down beside Star and began asking. “Now tell me, Star, when did you start feeling like this? And don’t hold back the details.”

Deciding to play along, for a bit. “Yesterday in the afternoon. Just after Marco asked Heckapoo out on a date.” Glossarick’s eyes widened at those words. He promptly summoned a cup of coffee and drank it all just so he could spit it out in surprise.

“The boy asked Heckapoo on a date?! And he isn’t dead?!” He tried to regain his composure but was unable to thanks to that shock.

Not wanting to get her friends into trouble. Star began to explain the kind of relationship they had. She just made sure to avoid saying how Heckapoo ditched work a few times to hang out with Marco. Hiding the truth is not lying anyway.

It was easier for Glossarick to keep calm after that. “That girl, going out with a mortal, wait till the High Commission hears this.” He quickly noticed the angry scowl Star was giving him. “Ok! I won’t ruin the boy chances, not like he needs any help with that.” He made sure to say that last part as a mutter instead of in full volume, not that it helped with keeping Star from hearing him.

“Let’s continue now. How does all of that make you feel? The thought of those two going out.” He began scribbling some quick drawing on his notebook.

“I… I don’t know.” Star thought hard on what to answer, but that was the best she could come up with.

“Now, Star, what did I tell you about your conscious mind? Right now you don’t need to think about your answers, you already have them all. Just feel the answer come to you, don’t fight it, nor stop it, just feel it.” The exact opposite of what he was teaching Star the other night, yes, but this was closer to Star’s nature, so maybe it will be easier. Yet, he may have to push a bit harder to get to the point. “Do me a favor Star and close your eyes.” The girl did as asked. “Now, imagine Marco and Heckapoo sitting on the living room couch, just those two. They are having a good time watching a movie and all of the sudden. The two of them kiss on the mouth. How does that make you feel?”

Saying the first thing that came to mind. “Sad, and happy.” She opened up her eyes and began to explain. “Happy that Marco is with a girl that wants to be with him.” She began to tear up a bit, placing her right hand over her mouth to stop the sobbing a bit. “And sad because that girl isn’t me.” She rolled to her side giving Glossarick her back and began crying harder right now, curling into a little ball of sadness. “Goddammit, Glossarick! Your stupid theory was right!” She began to feel the pain setting in her heart, like a leak that couldn’t be contained.

Dropping the doctor act now, Glossarick reached out a helping hand to calm Star down a bit. “There, there, little Princess. Is not the end of the world to have your crush going out with another girl.”

Star stopped with the sobbing a bit in order to answer back. “It’s not just a crush. I do love him.” She stayed silent after that, waiting for whatever Glossarick may answer.

“Oh… Well, can’t help you there, Princess.” He threw his hands in the air and Star sat back up to meet him face to face.

“What do you mean by that?!” She was more desperate than angry or confused right now.

“Princess, I have been single for millennia. I’m not that vexed on matters of the heart. Why don’t you try your mother?” The mere thought of that made Star cringe. “Other than that? Talk to Marco, maybe confessing will help.” And that was the worst possible idea at the moment.

“I can’t do that! He’s already with Heckapoo!”

“Yeah, and I still can’t believe it.” Glossarick began to look out of the window.

“What if I mess things up between them. Marco would never forgive me.” She began to dry her tears up, thinking on what to do.

“Well, better find out your answer soon. The boy is back home.” Star raced to the window to find out that, indeed, Marco was home. “And judging by that stupid look on his face, things went pretty well.” Star could only stare in shock at that look of stupidly in love that Marco was wearing. That shock was soon replaced by sadness, but still, she had something to take care of now.

Running to the bathroom mirror, Star began to hide her sadness and dry tears under makeup. Soon enough, you couldn’t even tell that she was crying over her broken heart a few minutes ago. “Going the ‘suffer in silence’ route I see.” Glossarick began to look worried about Star right there. “Listen, maybe you should have some faith that things will work out. You don’t need to confess if you don’t want to. But leaving your feelings bottled up won’t be good for anyone. Didn’t you feel a bit relieved when you said them out loud?” He was fine helping Star figure out her feeling for Marco, but seeing her hurt like that wasn't easy.

Star thought for a second about his words and quickly brushed them away. “Sorry, Glossarick, but I need to talk with my best friend.” And she ran downstairs to ask Marco all that happened on his date. They were best friends after all. She just hoped she didn’t say anything that she may regret later, she still had another day free of lies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you think everything from last chapter got dealt with too easy, it's all about priorities and how Star deals with them. Marco got so messed up so that took importance. Marco got better, but now Star can't lie, which now gets up on her priority list. She has a moment with Heckapoo that humanizes Marco. By the time Marco has the opportunity to apologize, the shock and fear she experienced had long passed but it's obvious that Star sees Marco in a different way, her feelings coming afloat thanks to her curse.
> 
> Still, I know it's not perfect.


	6. Dating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long chapter with a lot of new ideas.

Marco’s first date with Heckapoo was a simple one. Catching a movie at the theater and then walking around the park was as simple as they could get. They needed to be fast though, Heckapoo was still busy with work, not that it stopped her from ending their date with a kiss on the lips, although a short one. Didn’t matter for Marco, he still felt in Heaven all the way back home. He made sure to tell everything that happened to Star the moment he got home, good thing she was feeling better now. She looked as happy as ever for Marco.

They both felt just as happy when they made their way to school that Monday. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay home today? You still have one last day without lies.” Marco asked Star, worried about her.

“Nah, I never lie to anyone there anyway. Besides, we are already here.” Star signaled to the school building.

Still worried about Star, and not looking in front of him. “If you say so. But if you start feeling bad…” Just then, Marco bump into someone standing on his way. The two of them looked ahead and saw Heckapoo. Before they could ask her what she wanted, she took a step forward and kissed Marco on the lips. Jumping back in surprise, Marco, almost, yelled. “What’re you doing here!?”

Now laughing, she answered. “What? I wanted to let everybody in your school know that you’re already taken, especially the girls.” She took a step back and opened up another portal. “Besides, I’ll be busy with work for a while and wanted to see you at least once today.” She waved goodbye before leaving through the portal.

Now looking completely stupefied by that kiss and her words. Marco looked to his side to confirm that all of that really happened with Star, only to see Janna in her place. “Hi, Janna, where’s Star?”

“Oh, she left after the kiss. Way to announce you’re in a relationship, safe kid, people usually do it on social media.” It’s not that she wasn't surprised by what happened, is just that she couldn’t let this opportunity to tease him pass.

“So it did happen!” Marco looked triumphant there. “Anyway, I gotta find Star, see you around.” And he made his way towards the school, looking way happier than ever before. He didn’t even react to the guys congratulating him on getting a girlfriend or the girls giggling and asking him about Heckapoo. He just ignored them and continued on, finding Star at her locker. “Hey, Star, why did you disappeared back there?”

Looking down for a moment, Star answered. “You two looked like you needed some space…” Thinking about how to change the topic, her eyes wandered to the nearby wall and the poster on it. “Look, there’s going to be a dance.” The dance is supposed to take place two weeks from now. Not like it mattered to Star, to begin with.

Marco, on the other hand, looked at the poster and immediately thought this should be something Star should experience while on Earth. “Do you want to go?”

Star heard those words and became speechless. She blushed hard and stuttered a response. “Like… with you… together?” Star was worried that he meant something else with those words.

“Yeah, I mean, don’t think Heckapoo will be much for a school dance. And I know how much you like parties.” He smiled at her and didn’t noticed Star’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Yes! I mean, yeah, sure, if you want to I mean.” She tried playing it cool as to not give away her happiness.

Smiling at her now, Marco answered. “I do want to. I promise we will have a great time.” He had promised before that the two of them will hang out more, and this dance was a good start.

Soon, the bell rang, and the two of them hurried off to class. That was one uneventful day at school. One thing did change with Star though, she was way happier than when she arrived at school. Like that simple invitation, she received from Marco lighten up her day. Not even her inability to lie prevented her from being happy. Well, not during school hours anyway.

It was after school that Star was taken aside by Janna, leaving Marco to get home on his own. “Star, I heard the coolest thing involving a clown.” Star’s surprised look prompted her to continue. After explaining the urban legend about Bon Bon the Birthday Clown to Star, she finished with. “And the anniversary of his death is in two weeks, the night of the dance. What do you say we summon the spirit of that clown on the cemetery?”

That sounded like an awesome plan for Star, too bad she already had plans for the night. “Sorry, Janna, but I’m going to the dance with Marco that night.”

“Mmmm, doesn’t he already has a girlfriend for that?” Janna pointed out the obvious there.

Taken aback by her answer. “Well, yeah, but… He asked me to go with him. Can’t say no to my bestie.”

“Pretty sure you can under those circumstances. I mean, do you not see how wrong it looks for him to ask you on a date?” Star reacted at her words, blushing after hearing that last word. Putting two and two together, Janna screamed. “Oh my God! You have a cru…!” And Star covered her mouth with both hands.

“Don’t say that out loud!” Now Janna was smiling from ear to ear. Her reaction pretty much confirmed it, but she wanted more proof.

Afar Star removed her hands from Janna’s mouth, she spoke up. “Damn, now I know why you walked out on them. Must have been hard seeing that kiss.” They continue to walk home together, but Star had gone awfully quiet now. “You even live with the guy, she must hang around the house a lot.” And she was getting nothing from Star, not even a reaction. “I mean, it’s cool that you can take it so maturely. Can’t say I’ll do the same, probably try a whole lot of crazy things to keep them apart.” Star was now looking at the ground while walking, it bothered Janna so much being ignored, so she took Star by the shoulder and met her eye to eye.

Janna quickly regretted her words, and she was felt with guilt over pushing her friend so hard. As soon as they met eyes, Janna saw Star tears flowing from her eyes. It was clear that she didn’t take any of this good and that it was eating her from the inside. “Crap!” Janna then hugged Star, trying to console her. “I’m sorry, Star, I’m so sorry. I should sew my mouth shut. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Star held her tight and began sobbing lightly with her face buried in Janna’s shoulder.

“Look, forget everything I said. Just focus on your night with Marco. I really hope everything ends up fine between the two of you.” Janna was still feeling horrible for making Star cry. But she soon broke the hug and spoke towards Janna, cleaning her tears while doing it.

“It was hard seeing them kiss back at school. And believe me, I’m dealing with this the best way possible. Sorry about leaving you alone to resurrect that clown.” She tried composing herself now and continue her way home.

“Hey, don’t worry about that. The invitation is still up by the way. You know, if you feel like you need some time apart from everything.” She was still worried about her friend. She clearly had a broken heart right now.

“Sure, I’ll keep that in mind. See you later!” This was the point where their paths home split, so they said their goodbyes right there.

The rest of the day was a normal one for Star and Marco. There were no more surprise visits from Heckapoo, not like it bothered either of them. They spent the day together in their home, didn’t even leave the dimension, but didn’t do anything interesting either.

The next day at school was a normal one. They didn’t even have a surprise visit from Heckapoo all day. This time, however, only Star wasn’t bothered about it. But Marco was beginning to miss her a bit. Still, he understood the why of her absence, it must be hard being part of the High Commission. Not that it dismissed his sadness.

It took another day for them to receive another visit from Heckapoo. She arrived on the Diaz’s Household a few hours after school and met the teenagers in the kitchen. She was carrying a full rucksack. “Marco!” The girl reached out and hugged him. “Just making a quick stop to drop these off. Where’s Star by the way?” She was so focused on Marco that she totally overlooked the magical girl to her side. “Oh, there you are.” She waved at her while still hugging Marco. “You’ll be first.” She reached into her rucksack and pulled out a huge, black box, handing it over to Star. “Your part of the reward from killing that giant wolf.”

“You collected that bounty?” That was the biggest question he had right now.

“I sent some clones that way. Here’s yours by the way.” He handed another black box to Marco. “I figured what each of you will prefer, you’re free to change rewards if you don’t like them.”

Star opened up her box and found thousands of little balls of different colors inside. “Those little pearls are one of the kingdom’s national treasures. They said to thank you for stopping that thing.” Star could go elbow deep into that box and it was full to the top with pearls. Each one of them was beautiful and shine with a white light under the kitchen lights.

Marco looked inside his box and found several ingot bars inside, but they weren’t made from any material he knew of. These bars were reddish purple and even though the box was full of them, Marco could lift it up without problems. “Those are adamantite bars. Each one of them is worth a small fortune. You can sell them or I can do something with them for you. It a rare occasion that I get to work with this material.”

The teenagers were awestruck at the treasures in front of them. “You don’t need to decide what to do with them right now, I say think it over.” She then spoke towards Marco. “And I have something else for you.” She pulled out, from her rucksack, Marco’s equipment, but she wanted to show him the fixed jacket. “Hope you like it!”

She presented Marco with his usual black jacket. Heckapoo had fixed all the holes and replaced the plates inside, but she also added something new. It was a brown collar fur, with an equal fur line running by the zipper in front. “I took some of the wolf’s fur and made some improvements on the jacket. It doesn’t add anything else, but it looks cool. Look! I even put them on your boots!” Marco smiled at her words. He knew how much Heckapoo took pride and joy from all of her creations. So if she makes something for you in specific, you can be sure she likes you, a lot. “Well, are you going to try it or not?”

Doing as instructed. Marco removed his red hoodie and put on his new jacket. He spun around to show it off to the girls and then tried moving his arms to see if it fit him right. “I even give you a new hood to match the fur. Do you like it?” She asked, looking a bit shy on the process.

“You know I love everything you do for me.” The two of them smiled and were about to kiss right there. Only to be interrupted when Star knocked over all her pearls on to the ground.

“Wow, I’m so clumsy. Don’t worry about it, I can pick them up.” Star began to use her magic wand to pick all of the marbles and Heckapoo exclaimed there.

“Well, I was just dropping these off. See you two later.” And she made her exit right there. Leaving the two alone

“So, Star, what will you do with your half?” Marco was impressed by the beauty of the pearls, way more than he was his reward.

The pearls looked nice and all, but Star was expecting something in cash, or gold. Anything else that she could use at the moment. “Dunno, maybe make a pretty necklace, or fill a bathtub with them…” Another thought came to her mind right there. “Maybe I should buy a dress.” She noticed how Marco looked confused at that statement. “You know, for the dance.”

Marco chuckle at that. “It’s just a silly high school dance. You don’t need to go overboard with it. Besides, you already have some beautiful dresses.”

Smiling at that. “Yeah, you’re right. What would you do with yours?”

Picking up some of the bars to inspect them closely. “Give them to Heckapoo, probably. She is the master craftsperson.” Marco soon felt sad about Heckapoo’s short visit. Even if he just saw her a few days ago.

“Something wrong?” Star was worried about the sudden change of mood Marco had right there.

“Nah, Do you think Glossarick would mind if I ask him what the hell is adamantine?” He didn’t want to look like an idiot asking Heckapoo before.

“Sure, maybe he can see if these marbles have some magic in them.” And the two of them made their way upstairs to talk with the little blue man. They had a quiet afternoon the two of them.

Next day was their Friendship Thursday, just that this time, Pony Head joined them. It also didn’t go like Star hoped to. She wasn’t bothered by Pony Head being there with them, but she at least thought she could spend some more time with Marco. It turned out that Marco and Pony Head went to get the pizza for the night. Even after they came back, with a weird looking pizza, and the three of them sat together to watch the movie, it didn’t take long for her friends to fell asleep.

She sat there, covered with their Friendship blanket, and looked at Marco. He was so peaceful there, with his drooling face and light snoring. Star reached out and touched Marco with the tip of her finger, right on his cheek. She received nothing but a loud snore and Marco moved around in place, trying to get more comfortable. So, Marco wasn’t waking up, and her mind got some weird ideas there. Without thinking, Star got closer to him, and without hesitation, she kissed him on the cheek, right under his mole.

Opening her eyes and sitting back in her place, with her face on full blush mode, Star quickly noticed that Pony Head had seen the whole thing and her jaw was almost hitting the floor. Star panicked, jumped out of the couch and ran to the kitchen, with Pony Head following behind.

Once in the kitchen, Pony Head was about to scream, but Star stopped her. “Don’t you dare wake Marco up.” She grabbed Pony Head by the snout with both hands and put on her intimidating face.

Now released from Star’s grip. “What happened there, B-fly?” Star still had an angry look on her face but didn’t say anything. “I know it wasn’t a joke, you need the guy to be awake for that.” Star gave her back to Pony Head, still silent. And Pony Head rushed in front of her to meet her eyes again. “Are you saying you have the hots for the Earth turd?!”

Now looking down, Star only managed to say, softly. “Yes. I’m in love with Marco, and don’t call him that.”

“Isn’t he going out with Heckapoo though?” She noticed how those words dropped the mood for Star.

“Yes, he is. And he knows nothing about how I feel, so you better keep your mouth shut!” It was almost a threat but Star’s tone was filled more with frustration than anger.

“Alright, I won’t say a thing. But are you sure it’s for real?” Star raised an eyebrow at that question. “Maybe it’s just the attraction. Apart from the surprise of being caught, what else did you felt after you kissed him?”

She was still fresh from feeling her answers instead of thinking about them, so she missed no time answering back. “Happy, but for a short time, then I felt a bit sad.”

With a worried look on her face now. “Yeah, a kiss on the cheek is nothing. Try kissing him for real. Trust me, all that attraction you feel for him will vanish after that.” That sounded like an awful plan.

“And what if it doesn’t?”

“Then it’s real. Can’t help you if that happens though.” Star cringed a bit at her words. “Sorry about it, but if it makes you feel better, I think you’re way prettier than Heckapoo.”At least that made Star smile a bit.

“Thanks, Pony Head. Don’t think I’ll take your advice though.” Her friend laughed a bit.

“Yeah, I figured. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find an answer that fits you.” The two of them stayed in the kitchen and spoke for a few more minutes. Soon enough, Pony Head needed to go back home and they both said their goodbyes.

Star walked back to the living room and saw Marco still sleeping on the couch. She turned the TV off and took the dishes, and pizza, away to the kitchen. She then sat beside Marco and didn’t do anything, just looking at her friend sleeping on the couch, again.

After a few minutes of sitting on that couch pondering her options on what to do later, and Star still didn’t have a concrete answer. It’s not that she didn’t have options on what to do, but all of them sounded crazy or unpractical, confessing to see what happens or try to make Marco fall for her fell on that category. Others were too painful to consider, like waiting for them to break up. It also made her sound like a horrible friend, hoping for your friend to break up with his girlfriend just so she can have a chance.

Finishing her line of thought, Star stood up and shook Marco a bit to wake him up. “Marco, the movie is over and Pony Head is already gone. Why don’t you go upstairs to your room?”

Marco half heard her answer right there, he was still mostly asleep. “What? Oh, yes. Thanks for telling me.” He stood up, slowly, and stretched his body. He then noticed his friend looking a bit sad there. “Sorry about missing most of Friendship Thursday by the way.”

“No problem, now go get some rest.” Star smiled at him and Marco complied with her words. “Sleep well.” The last word she told Marco that day, and he just waved her goodbye. Star was so relieved that Marco slept through her talk with Pony Head that she just let out a huge sigh and called it a night there.

Next day was Friday and from the morning, it looked like it was going to be a normal day, or at least, Star hoped so. She was ready to leave, waiting for Marco by the door. He was taking longer than usual to get ready. Soon, Marco made his way down the stairs and Star was awestruck. He was wearing his black jacket, the one Heckapoo gave back to him a few days back, instead of his normal red hoodie.

Eyeing him up and down, and containing her blush, Star asked. “Why the change of outfit?”

Now making his way out. “Don’t need a reason to wear a gift from my girlfriend. But if I have to be honest, I’ve been missing her for a while now.” The two of them began to make their way towards school.

“Have you talk to her lately?” Star was worried about Marco for real. Missing someone important to you can hit you hard.

“We mostly text. She is so busy right now, or at least, that’s what she says.” Maybe he was hoping dating with Heckapoo to be a lot more like their own escapades, or minimum to see her more often.

Maybe she didn’t know what to do about her problems, but Star sure knew what to do to distract yourself. “Hey! Wanna go dimension hopping later?” Maybe going on a little adventure will lift their spirits up. “We can even do some bounty hunting, or just chill out with our money.”

The idea sounded good for Marco, he even smiled when Star suggested it. “Sure, what the hell! We have a fortune waiting to be spent.” Then it was settled. The two best friends are going to rock the multi verse tonight.

Apart from some odd looks around, Marco received nothing out of the ordinary about his new looks. Soon enough, school was over for the week, and he was ready to go out with his best friend.

Arriving home, Marco and Star missed no time talking with Glossarick about their treasure. “What do you got for us Glossarick?!” Star asked full of enthusiasm. They needed to know the true value of their items before they went around spending them.

“First, the boy’s bars.” He held up one of the adamantine bars. “This is an extremely rare, and durable, material, it’s even a powerful magic conductor. It has several uses, but mostly on weapons and armor. I say go to the Multidimensional Bank and trade it for cash, thing is as good as gold there.” So maybe bringing just one bar will be enough for Marco. “Next, your little marbles.” He picked up a handful of pearls. “I sense some light magic on them, but nothing too powerful. You could use them as magic charms or arcane focus, but that’s pretty much it. I do say hold onto them, you would need a true connoisseur to pay you a fair amount for them.” That deflated Star a bit.

“Don’t worry, Star, we have enough with my bars.” Star still prepared a pouch full of the things, just in case. They missed no time going out. It was a quick stop at the Multidimensional Bank for Marco to trade one of his bars for cash. They gave him a briefcase full of large numbered bills and told him those were good enough in every dimension, let’s see if that’s true. Afterward, they decided to hit several stores around dimensions, nothing like Quest Buy, they wanted the truly quality stuff.

Now they had the money, now what? “We should hit the Con Dimension” Marco raised an eyebrow at that. “A dimension where there’s always a different convention every day. There must be something cool we can do”. They soon found themselves at the Convention Dimension, and to their surprise, today’s convention was on martial arts in general. Marco was fascinated about the amount of paraphernalia he could find there, especially from Earth. DVDs almost impossible to come across in his dimension, either because they were too old or extremely limited, all kinds of weapons, normal and enchanted, and, weirdly enough, some people were summoning the spirits of dead fighters to hold a conference.

Star went around and bought several tabletop games and outfits. She didn’t go that crazy about the weapons but found out that she didn’t want much out of this trip. She was already having a good time with Marco and that was enough. She still asked around if somebody took some of her pearls, it was worth a try, but to no avail. A few hours into this, and the two of them were already tired.

“Damn, this place is packed to the roof, there isn’t even a place for us to sit.” And the two of them were struggling to hold all the things they had bought while in there. “Do you want to get something to eat?” He asked Star, whose face was covered by all the clothes she was carrying. “Oh, yeah, sorry.” Maneuvering a hand to reach out for his scissors. Marco opened up a portal to Star’s room and dumped all the things inside of it. Leaving their hands free. “Now, do you want to get something to eat?”

Thinking for a second there. “I do, and I have the perfect place to go.” Star took the scissors and opened up a portal to a night dimension, a place where it’s always night. Which made them one of the most beautiful places to go. “I always wanted to try the pizza from here.” She took Marco to what looked like an outdoor restaurant in the middle of a busy city. Getting a table, Star began to explain. “They said this place uses the most amazing ingredient to make your pizza, and, you know, the sky view is awesome.” Indeed, even with the lights of the city illuminating the streets, the night sky could be seen perfectly. Nothing like Earth’s skies. This one was filled with nebulas, and stars of different colors and sizes.

After inspecting the place a bit, Marco asked. “So, no menu?”

They were soon approached by a slim figured. It was a tall, hairless, cat, it was taller than Marco, hell, it was taller than Marco’s dad. He was dressed as your typical chef. “That’s right! The dishes I serve are made for each client individually. That’s why there are so few tables. I need to focus on each and every single one of them.” The two of them looked around and indeed, apart from their table, the small restaurant had other three tables and that’s it. “My name is Kasha and I’m the chef here. I can assure you, each ingredient will be selected based on your persona in order to achieve maximum tastiness.” Well, that about intrigued the teenagers.

“So, how do we do this? Do you need to speak with us or…” It was there that the chef grabbed Marco by the chin and opened up his mouth. He took a look inside, inspecting his teeth and tongue.

After a while, he left Marco’s mouth alone. “Now, will you be so kind to show me your hands?” Weird out now, Marco complied. The cat took a good look at the back of his hands before saying. “Now, flip them around, if you please.” He did as instructed and the chef backed up. “You look like someone brave, ready to tackle any issue if necessary. But you also have a tender heart, that spent in two. Also, you hate being called safe kid, but that’s an important part of your personality.” Marco jumped back at his words.

He pondered for a second before turning to Star. “Now, little lady, could I please look you in the eyes?” Eager now to know what he will discover, Star agreed. The cat got close to Star and looked at her right in the eyes. He didn’t even blink on those few seconds that he was busy with Star. “Could I see your magic wand? Just put it on the table.” The two of them were surprised at that, how did he know she had a magic wand? Doing as asked, Star placed the magic wand on the table. “Fascinating. You also have something in a little pouch, can I see them?” He stretched his hand and Star placed her pouch of pearls on it.

Kasha rumbled around the pouch, admiring the shining pearls. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you. Some of them unknown even to you. You also have something you want to protect so badly. And…” He looked towards Marco before kneeling down and whispering to Star. “And someone really close to your heart.” Star looked shocked at his words.

Now referring to the two of them. “Would you say something I said was untrue?” The two teenagers said no with their heads and the chef smiled brightly. “Alright then! Your food will be ready in a couple of minutes. I’ll bring you some water while you wait.”

Star began to blush at how close that was. “I only heard about how good the food was here, no one ever talked about the weird chef.” She laughed awkwardly there.

“Believe me, Star, weird doesn’t even begin to describe him. It was kinda neat though.” He was more familiarized with the weird occurrences of the multiverse now. “How did you think he did it?”

Thinking for a moment now. “Maybe magic, honestly, that’s the only explanation I have.” After she said that. Kasha, the chef, brought them their glasses of water. “But after the convention, I’m just glad that I have a moment to rest.” They both laughed at that.

Before he retreated to the kitchen again, the chef told them. “I just put your pizza into the oven, I’ll bring it over in ten minutes.” He then excused himself to go tend the food.

Once he was gone, Marco spoke up. “And this place has an amazing service. Seriously, a pizza ready in less than ten minutes? How could you not love that?” And they laughed there.

Soon, something hit Star. “Wait, he said pizza, as in, one pizza? I thought we will get one each.” Marco thought for a moment and indeed found it weird. “I’ll ask when he comes back, he looks rather busy.” The two of them saw the cat working thanks to the little window in the kitchen.

The two of them waited for their food with some small talk. It was awesome hanging out again like this, although, they never hung around like this before. This felt more like a date for Marco if it wasn’t that his ‘date’ was Star. Still, he liked it there, and being with Star just made him extra happy.

Their food arrived fast after that. The cat placed on top of the table a single pizza resting on top of a wood platter. “Yeah, I was going to ask about that. Aren’t we supposed to get a pizza each?” The chef cleared his throat before answering.

“That will be the usual case, with normal customers. But after my analysis, I concluded that the only way for you to enjoy this dish to its full capacity was to combine the best ingredients of each one of you into a well-balanced pizza. Don’t worry though, if you don’t enjoy it, I’ll take it out of your final bill.” He invited them to take a piece and taste it, he then retreated back to the kitchen to let them enjoyed their meal. “Just call me if you need something else, like a knives or forks.”

The teenagers took a look at their food. It was a, six piece, pizza of moderate size. Marco was a bit weirded out by the look of it. The bread was black, but it wasn’t because it was burnt, and what could be taken as the cheese was bright blue. A purple sauce covered the top of the pizza in several circles. The toppings were some white cheese curds, or at least that what it looked like, and some red meat. Is not that it didn’t look appetizing, it only looked weird. It was Star that was brave enough to pick a slice first.

“Let’s taste it while it’s still warm.” She took a bite out of her slice and was shocked at the taste. Her pupils widened and she took another huge bite out of it. Almost crying out at how awesome it tasted. In between chews, she managed to get across. “You have to taste this Marco. It’s amazing!”

Looking at how crazy Star went over a single slice, Marco took a slice and dig in. He didn’t say anything, he just began to drool and kept eating. It was difficult to describe this new taste, or more like, combinations of tastes. It began sweet and sour, but as they arrived at the purple sauce, the taste became spicy while being complemented by the white curd toppings. It got to the point that they went on autopilot and focused more on savoring the food than anything else around them. Quickly, they had run out of pizza and they both were sad about it.

“Aw, you up for seconds?” Thinking for a moment, Marco answered.

“Actually, I’m, surprisingly, full right now. Don’t you?” He felt satisfied after that short meal.

“You know what? I am too, weird isn’t it?” They would usually devour a bigger pizza all by themselves while snacking on some nachos.

“Makes you wonder how each one of our pizzas would taste if this was the better one.” They began pondering the possibilities.

“I’m more curious about the chef’s analysis. Like, how the hell did he knew all of those things?” Star has heard of clairvoyance and diviners that can see things that no one can. But she has never had the chance to meet one, especially one so… odd.

“You feel in the mood to ask?” Marco smiled because he knew Star would probably lose sleep over this. He received a smile back from Star and then flagged down the chef. After he arrived at their table, Marco asked. “Could you please bring us the check? And if you will be so kind to tell us how you knew all of that information that will be great.”

The cat smiled and left the check on the table before answering. “Here’s you check, you may think it’s a bit pricey, but the ingredients I use are the best, and rarest, ingredients from across dimensions, and the water and tip are not included.” Marco took a look at the bill, nothing he couldn’t afford. “And about my trick. Can’t say, sorry, you could say it’s a trade secret. But I can say it’s all about observation of detail.”

Star wanted to ask a bit more, but another couple entered the restaurant and the chef needed to welcome them. “Can’t say I got what I wanted, but I understand, it will ruin the illusion you may say.”

“So, where do you want to go right now?” Marco was still in the mood to go around dimensions, even more now that he was full of energy.

“Don’t think you are up for the Bounce Lounge.”

Thinking for a second, Marco remembered something important he needed to get. “Actually, I do want to go to one place in specific. Just let me go to the bathroom and I’ll meet you outside.” He left the money on the table and made his way to the bathroom.

Star took the bill and the money and walked towards the chef before he could disappear into the kitchen. “Here’s the money, and I wanted to thank you for tonight, you’re an excellent server and chef.” She thought for a second before reaching into her pouch and taking out one of her pearls. “I don’t know if you can get much out of this, but I wanted to leave you a tip.”

The chef pocketed the money and took most care of the pearl he was given. “You know, you could have paid up with one of these, so thanks for the tip. However, I’ll tell you one thing. These pearls carry only the power you yourself give them, their magic depends on it. Give one of them to your friend when you’re ready to confess, I’m sure he will appreciate it if you do.” He pocketed the pearl and left a blushing Star confused right there.

She didn’t notice when Marco called her name the first time, only when he touched her shoulder did she reacted. “Ah! Marco! Don’ scare me like that.” Marco was confused at her reaction but managed to brush it off.

“Let’s go now.” He opened up a portal out of there and Star followed him without questioning him.

Crossing the portal. The two of them found themselves inside what looked like a huge clothing store. Everything was white, or reflective mirrors to see how you look in your clothes or accessories. Every light was a pink one or some variation of that color. The red carpet on the floor and the ambient music made it clear that this was a fancy place if the price of the items wasn’t a clear indication already.

Star read the huge letters on one of the walls. “Felicity.” She exclaimed. It suddenly dawned on her what they were doing there. “This the store you wanted to go? Are we here to buy a gift for Heckapoo?!” She tried hard not to sound angry.

Not catching that change of tone from Star. “Yes, well, I’ll buy something for you too. Just tell me if something catches your eye.” Star didn’t answer, not like Marco noticed, he was busy looking all over the place. “I’ll check the jewelry, meet you by the counter later.” And he walked away.

“Yeah, see you later, why not?” She looked sad and began to wander around the isles. Maybe she could find something neat. Taking a few turns around the shop, she found herself in the perfume aisle and began to look around.

She found several bottles of different essences with cool looking effects running inside the bottles. One looked like a nebula inside a bottle, others like a cool Aurora Borealis, and some were completely jet black. All of them smelled the same for her so nothing caught her interest. She went towards the produce aisle next. She found several fruits, boxes of chocolate, and liqueurs in exhibit. This was more like it. Star loved candies and these ones looked tasty as hell.

Before she could take a closer look, a tall figure loomed over her from behind. She turned around and met a woman with blue skin and long black curly hair. Her face was covered except for her eyes and she had a bright red gem in the middle of her forehead. She wore a long veil that extended to her arms and wore a blouse that exposed her midriff. Her long dress skirt was red with golden ornaments, just like the blouse and veil. Lastly, she didn’t wear any shoes. Star looked up and saw her eye to eye. Her beautiful golden eyes.

Star was taken by surprise and barely managed to speak up. “Hello… can I help you?”

The woman bowed down and presented herself. “I’m Rati, one of the goddesses that run this store.” Her soft voice calmed Star a little. “And I’m here to help you, little girl.” Rati held Star’s hands and brought them up, smiling before speaking up again. “Helping girls like you with matters of the heart is why my friends and I opened up this store.” The goddess took Star towards a nearby mirror and stood her in front of it.

Confused now, Star spoke up. “Eh… thanks, but, I don’t think I need help… What would you suggest though.” She couldn’t think of a better person to ask about her problems than a freaking Goddess of Love.

Thinking for a moment. The goddess took a look at Star, pinching her heart marks and then spinning her to look at her from all sides. “Tell me about the person of your affections. How is he like? Or she, we don’t discriminate here.”

Star laughed before answering. “It’s a he, and he is my best friend. I just love the way we get along so well. The way he always worries about everything, but I know that he trusts me and that we will do everything for the other.” Thinking about all of those things made Star smile warmly. But her smile died quickly, when she remembered the most important part. “But he doesn’t see me like that, and he already has someone else. I truly have no chance with him, do I? Hell, I don’t even know if what I feel is real.” She looked at the ground and held her arms tight.

She then felt like being hugged from her side. Star opened up her eyes and realize it was a different woman than before holding her tight. “There, there, no need to feel sad, and take it from an expert. Your love IS real.” Star looked to her side and saw the previous woman that was helping her smiling.

The new woman let her go and spoke up. “Sorry about that, I sometimes get too emotional for my own good. I’m Artemis, I’m also one of the owners.” This woman wore a white tunic and had light orange hair. With cream white skin, her eyes were green and she didn’t wear any shoes either. She also looked muscular, especially on her upper body, but not too much.

“Hello, I’m Star, and I don’t know what you two want to do with me.” She said more in a joking tone than confused.

“Sorry about that, Star, I sometimes get too into the job.” Rati apologize. “I will be more up to you actually. You want to attract your man’s attention, or to find out how he feels about you?”

Damn, Star didn’t know she had options on this. “I don’t know. I think I want him to look at me, not as his friend, but as a girl.” Her words made the goddesses ponder for a moment. They both spoke up at the same time.

“You need a makeover!” Rati spoke up. “You need to show him what you’re made of!” Artemis said. Immediately, the two goddesses locked eyes, a bit annoyed.

“She said she wanted him to notice her. A quick makeover will resolve that. Not that she needs to, she’s already beautiful, but everybody needs a little help from time to time.” The red dressed one argued, and Star blushed a bit.

The on in white tunic argued back. “But she needs him to fall in love with her. She needs to show the real Star. The guy already likes her, that’s obvious, he just needs a little push, nothing that extravagant.” The two of them began to look angry right there. With Star jumping back at her words.

“Yes, and once she gets his attention, their love will do the rest. It’s simplicity at its finest.” Star was about to speak up, but the other woman beat her to the punch.

“Ugh! You don’t need pretty looks to get a guy’s heart. Once she shows him the real her, like you say, love will do its magic.” They both sighed in annoyance and then spoke towards Star. “Sorry, girl, we rarely agree on our ideas. What would you prefer?”

Fair question, Star was the one with the issue. But before she could decide, she thought that this will be more of a surprise for Marco, so she was going to need to pay for whatever she decides herself. Taking out one of her pearls and showing it to the goddesses, Star asked. “I don’t have cash, will this pearl work as payment?” The goddesses were shocked at the little blue pearl that Star was holding.

Rati snatched away and inspected it closely. “Star, do you know what this is?” Star nodded in disagreement and the goddess explained. “This isn’t a pearl, it’s a solid tear drop. The tear of an ancient goddess. Even older than us.”

Artemis took the pearl and examined closely. “The story goes that every time true lovers kissed for the first time, this goddess will cry a single tear of happiness. Those tears will travel across the void in between dimensions, solidify, and then land in random dimensions. You have more?”

Star showed them her pouch full of these little tears. “And I have a box full of them back home.” The mere fact that someone would manage to get this many was surprising, most people just dismiss these as simple pearls. “If they came for an ancient goddess, wouldn’t there be more around?”

“They must, but most of them are never found. Maybe somebody heard the story and began hoarding them.” The blue skin woman explained. “If we carried them here, they will be amongst our most expensive items.” They returned the tears back to Star and a new idea rushed into their minds. “You know, you may already have your answer right here.”

The orange haired goddess noticed the confused look Star gave them and explained. “We know you have some magic power yourself, and these tears are good magic conductors. You could place a love related charm on one of them and give it to your friend.” The goddesses took Star to the library section and gave her a small book in specific. “One Thousand and One Love Charms. Maybe you can find something here that can help you.”

“Sold!” Star took the book from her hands and replace it with her pouch.

“No, that’s too much. One will be more than enough.” The goddess tried giving them back, but Star stopped her.

“I’m glad you took time to help me, and they look very important to you both. Take them as a thank you for your help.” The two of them smiled at her words.

“I still think you should get a makeover, just think about it and come back if you change your mind. I’ll give you a free one to knock that guy out for sure.” Rati hugged Star goodbye and Star went to find Marco around the store.

She found him by the cash registers, already paying for his gift. Star approached him and hid the book behind her back. “Hello, Star. You found something you want?” Marco was waiting for the lady to wrap his present.

“Maaaaaaaybe.” She tried playing it cool, it was a surprise.

Marco just laughed and picked up his wrapped gift. “Anything else you want to do?”

“Nah, let’s go home.” Star was getting tired and wanted to go home and try her new book.

Thinking for a moment. Marco opened up his money briefcase, he had spent a little over half of his money. Maybe he could save it for some other time… or maybe he can still have some fun with it. “I have an idea, and don’t worry, it’s going to be a quick one.” He opened up a portal to Star’s room and threw his gift to the other side, Star followed suit quickly as to not let Marco see what she bought.

The two of them went back to the city at the night dimension. The stood on top of one of the buildings that overlooked one of the busiest streets of the city. “What are you planning, Marco?” Star was eager to know what her friend was thinking right now.

“It’s a bit silly, but I always wanted to do this, at least once in my life. Just follow my lead.” Marco stood on the edge of the building and opened up the briefcase on the ground. He took one of the stacks of bills and threw them into the streets below.

Star saw all of this, and the reaction of the people on the ground, and began to laugh. “Are you crazy?! That’s your money!” She continued laughing at how big Marco’s smile was. “You fought a giant wolf to get it.”

“I know, but I already told you that I never did it for the money. Try it!” He gave Star some bills and he continued to throw his money out the building.

Looking at how much fun it looked, Star made it rain at the congregating crowd below. Now the two of them were laughing hard and continue on till they ran out of money to throw. The cheers of the people below made them rolled on the floor. “It was worth it, all of it.” Marco spoke up and then sat down. “Hey, Star, thanks for going out with me tonight. I loved it.”

Stopping with the laughter, Star sat up herself to answer. “I loved it too. It was different from what we usually do, but it was a nice chance.” The two of them sat beside the other and looked at the night sky. Soon, the crowd died down, and the two of them were left with the sound of the city. A bit chaotic at parts, but it didn’t bother them in the slightest. Star’s eyes began to wander over Marco. Her mind was blank, she just enjoyed looking at her friend so peaceful.

Marco took notice of the girl’s eyes on top of him and blushed a bit. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

Snapping back to reality. “Nah, you just looked so cute there, you know, puppy cute.”

Marco’s blush didn’t die down after those words. “Well, you’re as pretty as those stars, Star.” He tried making that pun work but he had to admit that he still needed to polish his charm.

Star chuckled a bit at that joke. “Thanks, guess we should get going though. It’s getting pretty late.”

They both got up and dust themselves off. As soon as the two of them arrived back to Star’s room, Marco threw himself on the bed, fully exhausted now. He noticed how Star began to rumble around the pile of things they bought. “Pass me my present while you’re at it, please.” Star did as instructed and brought him the little present box he got earlier.

“What did you bought her?” Star, stealthily, hid her new book inside her drawer.

He smiled a bit before answering. “I decided to keep it simple and got her a necklace. The lady at the counter told me it will bring her dreams of me.” They both laughed at that. “I know, a bit silly, but at least she will see me when we aren’t together.” Marco got visibly sad at his words.

“Hey, don’t be like that. I’m sure she is thinking about you right now.” Star didn’t need the feeling she has for Marco to know how he may be feeling right now.

“Yeah, probably. I’m just gonna take my things and leave you alone.” He got up and did as he said. He had some difficulties with all of it but managed to get out the door with no more issues.

Star said good night and decided to leave to sort her things for tomorrow. She needed to focus on her new book right now. Maybe she could find some charm that suited her needs, and if not, learning charms is one of the things she had been eager to learn. All in all, today was a good day, and Star felt happier than ever after hanging out with Marco. It was like being aware of her feelings made their time together felt hundreds of times better than before.

In the other room, Marco still felt bad about not seeing his girlfriend for most of the week. But he still found comfort knowing that he was never truly alone. Star was a great friend and he couldn’t believe how much fun the two of them had without risking their lives or fighting something dangerous. They truly were that close, and Marco began to feel happy about the fact that he has such amazing girls in his life. Even if he isn’t always able to see one of them.

The rest of the weekend came and went quickly, with the two best friends hanging around across dimensions. It was a good way to pass time and stay close. Time passed and they soon found themselves arriving at school on Monday. Marco was looking around with his guard up, like waiting for something, or someone.

“Hoping Heckapoo will show up and surprise you like last week?” Star knew that was the obvious answer.

“More like, want to be prepared when she does.” Marco was so sure that Heckapoo will show up like last week, they didn’t talk that much that weekend but he didn’t mind that. After some minutes of the two of them waiting by the school entrance with no sight of the girl, Marco retreated to his locker, a bit heartbroken.

“Aw, cmon, maybe she is just running late.” Star tried consoling him a bit.

“Perhaps, but let’s be honest, she must be so busy right now that she doesn’t have the time. I’d go visit her but I’ll just get on her way.” He was just venting his frustration all the way to his locker. He was already angry when he opened up his locker door, but that anger turned into surprise when Heckapoo jumped out of his locker, or more like, out of a portal that she opened up in his locker.

“And here I am!” Exclaimed Heckapoo, throwing her arm into the air and smiling at Marco. “Bet you were already thinking I wouldn’t show up.” She threw a smug smile at Marco and then talked to him. “Aw, you wear the jacket I gave you to school. You’re so sweet.” Marco had decided to wear that gift instead of his usual hoodies every day he could, it was a cool jacket and it meant too much for him giving who made it.

“Just here to check on me I suppose.” He was feeling a bit embarrassed at how he almost blew up back there.

“Well, yeah, but I also came to ask if you will be busy after school.” She leaned on the lockers beside her as she said this.

“Not really, why?”

“Why? We barely saw each other last week. I want to spend all day with you, but you have school and I haven’t really finished up my work, so the whole afternoon must be enough.” She smiled right there, not noticing Star standing just a few steps away from the two of them.

Asking the important question now. “Are you sure you’ll be free for that?”

Heckapoo brushed off Marco’s suspicious and answered back. “I’m already putting the clones on double time as we speak. Trust me, it will be just me and you for the rest of the day.” She held Marco’s hand tightly to drive her point home.

Smiling now, Marco wasn’t able to resist her charms. “If you’re so sure, then I hope we have fun.” They both smiled and kissed right there, a quick one as they both needed to be someplace else right now.

Star saw the flirting and that kiss in complete silence. She was sure that after seeing them kiss already before that it wouldn’t hurt her as much seeing them do it again, she was wrong. That heavy feeling set again in her heart, but she needed to keep it together right now. Something that Star could thanks school for right now, it distracted her enough to push back the fact that she won’t see Marco for the rest of the day, but hey, they at least had a short time after school to talk a bit.

But she had no such luck. As soon as the two of them got out of school, Heckapoo was waiting for them by the lockers. “Ready for our date?” She asked Marco.

Surprise now, Marco asked. “So soon? I thought you will at least wait after I got home.”

Heckapoo reached out to him and hugged him closer. “Why wait? You are already dressed sharply and look as handsome as always.” She shot him some playful eyes and Marco blushed hard.

Now talking to Star. “Do you care if I leave you alone from here?” Marco was looking a bit stupefied by Heckapoo’s words.

“Don’t worry about me, have fun on your date.” She wore the biggest, fakest, of smiles she could muster.

Opening a portal out of there, Heckapoo answered. “Don’t worry, we will.” And she led Marco towards the portal. Star dropped her smile after the two of them left. It was a lonely way home for her.

Marco and Heckapoo arrived at a flower field. They were standing on top of a small hill with a wide tree in the middle of it. Marco could only see flowers till the horizon and nothing else. From inside a small hole in the tree, Heckapoo took out a blanket and a basket. She spread the blanket on the ground for them to sit down and from the basket began to take out some dishes and food.

It quickly dawned on Marco. “We are having a picnic?” He laughed a bit.

“What? I like this place, and I thought you would be hungry after school.” She began taking out a roasted chicken, some bread sticks, a salad made from vegetables unknown to Marco, and a pie, for dessert. She also took out a pair of glasses and a bottle of wine, just to stop the moment she saw the bottle. “Crap, I forgot you don’t drink.”

Marco sat beside her, smiling. “Don’t worry, I’ll drink a bit.” The two of them began eating while talking about their respective weeks. Heckapoo’s was nothing too out of ordinary, for her. No mattered how much she explained her work, Marco couldn’t fully get it. Something about an out of control magic vortex. Whatever, Marco was happy to finally have some time along with her.

After she finished retelling what happened in her week, Marco remembered something important. Opening a portal to his room, he took the gift he had bought her that weekend. “Here, I can’t make you something awesome like you do, but I still want you to have something of mine.”

Taking the little gift box. Heckapoo unwrapped it and was surprised at the letters on the box. “Felicity? That’s one expensive place.” She then smiled at Marco. “Can’t wait to see what you bought from there.” She opened it up and her eyes widen at the necklace inside. The piece of jewelry was a small, red colored, chain that opened up from behind to put it on. The golden gem that dangled from the chain wasn’t bigger than a golf ball, but it did catch her eyes. Heckapoo instantly noticed the quality of the piece, being a craftsperson herself, she could appreciate it more on that side. She missed no time putting it and felt prettier right now. 

“Thanks, Marco.” The two of them kissed there, but as soon as they were getting too much into it, Heckapoo broke the kiss. “Calm down, man, we will have a ton of time for that later. Right now, let’s finish up eating.”

They did just that, finishing their food and dessert, the two of them rested a bit laying on their side to look at the other. “So, where are we going after this?” Marco was intrigued, and eager, to know what came next.

“Depends, you up for a boat ride?” She took Marco’s raised eyebrow as a yes. After they had rested enough, Heckapoo opened up a portal and the two of them crossed it. On the other side, the two of them found themselves on a riverside full of mist. They were on top of a wooden pier and Marco soon realized they were just in front of a boat rental cabin. “Don’t worry, I already made reservations.” They approached the register guy and he guided them to one of the boats anchored on the pier. Marco noticed that their boat was more like a gondola. The two of them boarded their gondola and Heckapoo created a clone to row them around. “I know this doesn’t look like much, but trust me, once we get past the mist, you’ll be amazed.”

The trip across that river took a few minutes. Marco was weirded out by the atmosphere, and Heckapoo looking eager for whatever reason didn’t calm him down. The mist was so heavy that he couldn’t see past a few meters in front of the gondola. But they never changed direction, not even once, so Heckapoo must know the way around.

A few minutes more into the ride and Marco began to see light coming their way. Heckapoo got up and moved in front of the gondola to have a better view, she even dragged Marco with her, she didn’t want him to miss it. Once they crossed the mist, Marco was blinded by the sunlight.

After recovering from the light. Marco realized that they never were inside a mist. Looking around revealed that they were several hundred of meters in the sky, rowing on a floating river surrounded by several clouds and floating islands. Looking back, he noticed that they were coming out of a huge gray cloud. Looking down at the crystal clear water, several tiny fish swam or flew depending on how you looked at it, inside the water. He quickly noticed Heckapoo looking awestruck by everything.

“Look at that, Marco. Beautiful, isn’t it?” She was either talking about the waterfalls that went up and down, all the rainbows that could be seen at the distance, the view they had of the planet’s surface beneath them, or all of them at the same time. Marco noticed the look on Heckapoo’s eyes, one full of amazement.

“Yes, it is. You come here a lot?”

The girl sat down before explaining. “Not as much as I wish to. I love finding this kind of places across dimensions and I wanted to share it with you.”

The two of them leaned back to enjoy the ride. They rowed all around the floating river. Inside one of the islands cavern systems, and were perplexed at the inside formations and the light emitted by the mushrooms inside. They passed across the feeding grounds of the giant hummingbirds, a place covered in human-sized flowers for the birds to feed on. All of that before arriving at another cabin on a clearer pier.

After leaving their gondola behind, Marco was eager to know what came next. “Any other new amazing place you want to show me.”

“Amazing? Yes, New? Not that much...” Before she could get into the details, she received a call on her pocket mirror. “Hold for a sec, I got to take this.” She moved to the side and answered her call.

The boy stood on the sidelines, looking some other couples arriving at the pier. All of them so busy with each other that most forgot to tip the boat guy. He noticed how romantic they all acted and got an idea. Heckapoo was so busy with her call that she didn’t notice Marco getting closer. He hugged her from behind and resisted being pushed away.

“Yeah, but…” And Marco distracted her with a kiss on her cheek. She only looked annoyed. “Look, I’m not…” Marco tried kissing her again, but she managed to dodge it. “I have been busting my ass all…” She was getting angrier at her call, and Marco getting so clingy right now didn’t help her calm down. “Wait a second.” She held the mirror as far as her arm stretched and then pushed Marco away with her free hand. “STOP IT!” Marco was pushed back a few steps by her strength, he looked shocked right there and the two of them met eyes. Heckapoo still had a frown on her face and Marco began to look sad. “I’ll be there in a moment.” She talked to her mirror and hung the call.

Now looking sad herself, she explained. “Sorry about that. The Commission discovered that I sent a clone to do my duties, I need to go now.” Marco remained silent. “Look, I really wanted to spend all day together, I truly did, but I can’t ignore this.”

Trying to argue back. “But… It’s just… I miss you.” He shot the saddest eyes he had at her.

She took a step closer and held his hand. “And I miss you too… I’m sorry.”

“You could leave a clone at least.”

“No, I want to give you my full attention, you deserve nothing less than that.” She thought for a moment there. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“When?” Marco wasn’t angry, but he still wanted to know this.

She found herself short for words. She couldn’t really give him a concrete answer. “This weekend, I’ll talk with the guys to let me have some days off. Then, we can continue where we left.” She placed a reassuring hand on his cheek. They met eyes and smiled a bit. After their goodbye kiss, Heckapoo made her exit and Marco returned home.

He arrived at his kitchen and made his way to the living room, sitting down on the couch to watch TV. He didn’t really pay too much attention to the screen. The last minutes on his date still flashed on his head. It was after some minutes of him sulking on that couch that Star walked in from upstairs.

“Marco?” She walked down and stood beside the couch. “I thought you were going to be away all day.” Star noticed how sad he was right now and began to worry.

“Heckapoo got a call from work.” He sat up and continued. “Even when we are together we still aren’t fully at peace.” He placed his hands on his face in frustration. “Do you think if I talk with Glossarick about us he could help her?”

Remembering that Glossarick already knew about them, and how it hasn’t helped him a bit yet. “You could try, but, don’t get your hopes up. Do you at least have a good time?”

Letting out a big sigh. “Yes, and that only makes it worse. I had so much fun with her that her leaving like that only makes me miss her even more.”

“I’m sure she feels the same about you. Maybe you should take the initiative and call her more.” She didn’t have any other plan, to be honest.

Remembering what happened back at the pier when he tried to act more romantic. “Not a good idea. I just need to suck it up for a bit longer. She told me she is going ask for the weekend off, let’s see how much of that is true.” He stood up and began to make his way upstairs. “See you later, I have to do my homework.”

Before he could reach the stairs, Star spoke up. “Look at the bright side.” Marco stopped right there.

Thinking really quick, he couldn’t find anything like that. “Care to explain?”

“Your bestie is still here, for starters, and even if Heckapoo isn’t free this weekend we still have a dance to go.” She smiled at him and Marco did too.

Thinking for a second, yeah, he could be way worse right now. At least he wasn’t completely alone, and it was true. This weekend was going to be a fun one no matter who he spends it with. “Thanks, Star. I appreciated.” And he retreated back to his room for the rest of the day. He had the rest of the week to prepare either for a romantic date with Heckapoo, or a fun school dance with Star.


	7. The Birthday Clown.

The rest of Marco’s week was a quiet one after his Monday, just following his normal schedule. Star kept busy with training, whatever distracted her from her feelings right now. However, both of them were worried, and sad, for different reasons. Marco was still saddened by his previous date with Heckapoo. It was more the fact that he missed her to no end, he missed hanging out with her like before and wished that things went back to what they used to. But maybe that was too much to ask, she is part of the Magic High Commission and must have a ton of important work to do, or at least, that’s what he told himself to contain himself from going to see her.

Star, on the other hand, was worried about her friend. Even when they were having fun, it was obvious that Marco’s heart wasn’t fully there. She thought that she would be glad to not see them together, but she soon realized it was wrong hoping your friend has a bad relationship with another girl. Her friend was miserable right now, she would have to be a horrible person to feel happy about that. She even managed to ignore her sadness about not even being able to be with Marco and focus completely on cheering her friend up.

It was the middle of the week when Marco received a text from his girlfriend. “Hey, you awake?”

It was the afternoon of Wednesday, of course, he was awake. “Yeah, what’s up?”

They hadn’t talked since their date so they both felt a bit awkward. “You still angry about what happened?”

“I wasn’t angry.” But for some reason, he didn’t feel like talking that much. “What did they tell you at work?”

Heckapoo’s response took a bit longer to appear on the screen. “They said they’ll think about it.”

Groaning loudly, he answered. “What can be so important that they don’t let you rest?!” He calmed down after reading how angry he sounded there. “I’m sorry, I know you can’t do anything about it.”

“I’m sorry too.” Maybe changing the topic will help. “What’s Star been up to these days?” She didn’t know Star that well but knew how close Marco and she are.

“A bit quieter these days. She’s been focusing more on training and reading a little book she bought.” It was like that for the last few days with her, nothing too crazy. “She’s also anxious about the school dance.”

“Dance?” The first time she heard anything about it.

“Yeah, just a silly dance, but she wants to go and I promise to take her.” Just one more night together with her friend, that’s how he saw it.

“I see…” Next text took another while to appear again. “Any reason you don’t want me there?”

Marco jumped back a bit at that question. “Didn’t think you'd like to go.”

“How would you know that? You never asked.” He rolled his eyes at her response.

“Not like you’ll have the weekend free anyway.” Marco didn’t care about watching his words now.

“But at least you should have mentioned it.” Marco had to throw his hands in the air at that.

“Why are you so angry about it? It’s a stupid dance, nothing as interesting as, literally, anything else we had done together.” He awaited her response right there, ready to argue back.

“You’re right.” Well, that surprised Marco. “It’s just, I’m still angry about last Monday. The way they cut our date short, and you already have plans for the weekend, it took me by surprise.”

“Hey, cheer up, they never told you no. I say let’s cross our fingers.” He needed to be the optimistic one here, or at least try to.

“Yeah, let’s hope.” Maybe he wasn’t that good at it.

“Hey, I need to go, homework you know.” He excused himself and said his goodbyes. He knew what he needed to do right now. Getting up from his desk, Marco made his way towards Star’s room.

Once inside, he noticed Star lying face down on her bed reading a book. It wasn’t the spell book, this one was smaller. “Hey, Star.” Taken by surprise, Star jumped up from her bed and stood up.

“Marco!” Thanks to her sudden moves, a bunch of the pearls she received as a reward rolled out of her bed. “What’s up? Wanna hang out?”

Looking around the room. “Later, I need to talk with Glossarick. Where’s he?” at that very moment, as if he summoned him by calling his name, the spell book opened up and out came Glossarick.

After some quick stretches, he spoke up. “That was a good nap. You called?”

Marco approached him and asked. “Hey, I have a favor to ask you.”

Quick on the answer. “No, boy, I’ll not teach you magic.” Before Marco could speak up. “Nor will I show you where I keep all my pudding, that’s… that’s just wrong.” Disgusted at that comment, Marco tried speaking up, just to be beaten to it by Glossarick. “And I can’t help your girlfriend get those days off she asked for.” Well, that surprised Marco, to say the least.

“How did you…?” And he got the idea about what may have happened. He looked at Star with some anger and then spoke towards Glossarick. “Why not? She’s been working hard for a long time now!”

“First of all, you don’t know how long ‘a long time’ means for The Magic High Commission. There’s a lot to do right now, no way to go around that.”

“YOU WERE NAPPING!!!” A fair point there.

“Because my job is to train Star. A job just as important as everything else.” He didn’t even smile at that like he was stating the facts.

Trying to calm down. “Please, I… I miss her. Anything I can do to change your mind?” Glossarick saw behind Marco, right at Star. The girl was holding both hands together asking him to do something about it, quietly of course. He gave it a quick thought to see if there was something he could do.

After a few seconds of floating around the room thinking. “I’ll see what I can do for her, but you own me.”

Those words were a welcomed release for Marco. “Thanks, It's appreciated. Could you please not tell her about this conversation?” There was no reason for Heckapoo to know about this. Besides, he didn’t want to appear as desperate or controlling.

“Sure, and don’t thank me. I’m not doing it for you.” Marco thought it was, surprisingly, nice of him to worry about his coworker. But Star knew he wasn’t talking about Heckapoo. “See you all later.” And he retreated back to the book.

Now that the two best friends were alone, Star spoke up. “Good luck with that. I mean it.” Marco smiled so sweetly at her right there that Star was awestruck for a few seconds.

Still happy that they now had a better chance, Marco spoke up. “Thanks. Hey, mind if I ask you what were you doing?”

Maybe it was about to show Marco what she had been working on since the weekend. “You need to see this.” Star rumbled around her pockets and pulled out one of the pearls. “Here, I want you to have this.” She handed a pink pearl so obviously glued to a plastic ring to Marco.

Inspecting it closely, Marco couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary with the piece of jewelry on his hand. “Ok, I’ll bite, what does it do?”

“You need to say the magic words. Ask it where I am.” Star took a few steps back and smile at what was about to happen.

Smiling and following Star’s games, Marco spoke up. “Where’s Star?” The pink pearl then began to glow bright red and a small line of the same color came out of the pearl and pointed right at Star.

Chuckling a bit. “It’s a… friendship charm.” She may have changed one of the words there, whatever. “It will tell you where I am and how far away. So we can always find each other, no matter how far we are.” She smiled at him.

Now feeling warm in the heart, Marco approached Star and hugged her tightly. Maybe cause he was still happy about his talk with Glossarick, or because this was so corny that it was sweet, it didn’t really matter. “Thanks, Star, I’ll wear it all the time.” He already wore the bracelets he bought from Quest Buy all the time, so this shouldn’t be any more difficult.

Now with a huge smile on her face, Star answered back. “You’re so sweet.” Now separated. “Want to hang out before dinner?”

“Sure, anything else you had done with your reward?” He already donned the plastic ring on his left hand. He also knew that Star had hundreds of the things, surely, she must have done something amazing with them.

Star pulled out her box full of the pearls and laid it on top of her bed. She began pulling out some so show Marco. “This little necklace will give you dreams of the one closest to your heart.” She placed the string jewelry around Marco’s neck, and he just raised an eyebrow at that. “This pencil helps you write poetry about your love one.” Marco took the ordinary No. 2 pencil with a blue pearl taped around the eraser. “And this bracelet… I’m not really sure, I tried several charms but none of them seemed to stick. It will either make someone fall in love with you, it’ll never get lost, or it will help in finding your true love.” Another piece of string with several pearls strapped around.

As Marco was inspecting the items handed to him, Star spoke up. “I know, nothing compared to what Heckapoo makes for you.”

Jumping back at those words. Marco didn’t want to sound like he didn’t like his friend’s creations. “What? No, Star, These things are amazing. I was just thinking, why are all of them love related? You going to crack down on your crush for Oscar or something?”

Thinking she was caught now, Star needed to come up with something fast. She could have just gone with her crush with Oscar, but she didn’t want Marco to get the wrong idea, but at the same time, she wasn’t ready to confess. ”I got interested in the book I bought last weekend. Here.” She showed Marco the black covered book with golden letters. He missed no time opening it.

Inside, each charm was divided into alphabetical order and each description was next to a nice drawing representing the effects of the charm. “Neat book.” He still felt something odd about the book. No, it wasn’t the book, it was his friend. Closing the book, he looked at Star in the eyes. “But I have to say, you don’t need magic to charm somebody. I’m sure you’re pretty charming yourself.” He smiled at her and Star began blushing hard.

“Well… It just caught my eye… You really think that?” She felt so happy hearing him praise her, and shy, so while she asked him she also looked away from him.

“Sure I do. I think you’re amazing, I’m sure Oscar will feel the same way once you ask him out.” That last part brought Star back to reality.

“Yeah… Oscar… I don’t think I’m crushing on him anymore, to be honest.”

Surprised at her words, Marco spoke up. “How so? Who will get all these amazing items now?” That last question was a joke, a bit corny, but they both chuckle at it so he took it as a win.

Star didn’t want to keep going now, she was sure she would end up confessing if she continued. “I don’t know, but at least I'm prepared when I find him.” She smiled awkwardly there. “Hey, Marco, can I ask you something?” Her friend nodded in agreement, a bit confused. “How… How did you do it?” Marco was even more confused at her question, and Star noticed this. “How did you get someone so amazing to fall for you? Just… how?” She avoided eye contact after that question.

It was weird. Marco knew there was something wrong with Star, and he had an idea of what it was. “I… don’t know what to tell you. I’m still asking myself that question, to be honest... Who is he?” He noticed how Star didn’t react at his words, she just continued looking down.

Trying to hold back her feelings, she answered. “I won’t say.” There was no point in lying and saying she wasn’t in love with someone, but that didn’t mean he needed to know who it was. “But he is amazing, it makes me so happy just having him close.” She had already won the fight against her tears and felt safe enough to look up and look at Marco in the eyes. She smiled at him, warmly.

Marco knew not to push for more answers, he still needed to console her somehow. It was obvious that this was eating Star from the inside. Marco held her hand and smiled at her. “I’m sure you’ll make it work, tell me if I can help you somehow.” The two of them hugged right there and didn’t separate till a few minutes later when Mrs. Diaz called them down for dinner.

It was a normal dinner, and the two of them retreated back to their own rooms afterward. It was obvious that Star was still feeling down after their talk, but she assured Marco that wasn’t the case. Still, he didn’t completely buy it, but he decided that pushing her too much might make her close up to him. 

Inside her room, Star couldn’t shake the feeling of being heartbroken. She already felt a bit depressed after figuring out her feelings, but this was different like she couldn’t contain them anymore. “Glossarick!” She called out the only person close enough that knew how she felt.

For the second time today, Glossarick came out of the spell book. “What’s wrong princess?” He floated towards the bed where Star was sitting now.

“I’m feeling awful. I think what you said was true, that I can’t go on hiding my feelings.” This was a good first step, talking with someone.

“And you realized this without phycology, good for you. Does this means you're ready to confess?” Star had to cringe a bit there.

It was true, Star knew what she needed to do in order to stop feeling like this. “Yes, I'm ready... I think… but how?” They both pondered for a second about options.

“Well, Heckapoo is probably going to be busy this weekend, why don’t you take that chance to confess?”

“No! And you told Marco you were going to help her with that!”

That reaction kinda surprised Glossarick. “Well, you want to confess but won’t take the easy route to do it.”

It may sound like the perfect opportunity for her, yes, but Star wasn’t one to do something so selfish. “I do want to confess, it’s eating me inside, but I also want Marco to be happy. I won’t get in the way of that happiness, nor will I let you do it.” She shot some angry eyes towards the blue man, making her point clear.

“So, you want to confess, but keep your friendship going?” This was sounding more difficult by the sentence. “You do know what’s the most probable outcome, right?”

Holding her magic wand tight, Star’s determination grew right there. “Yes, it’s probably going to ruin it, he already has Heckapoo and there’s nothing I can do about it. But I still want to do this, not for Marco, but for myself.” Glossarick noticed Star’s willpower and was happy to comply.

“Well, we can at least hope for the best. Don’t you have a dance to go this Friday?” Star nodded a yes. “Well, I have a meeting with The High Commission tomorrow, I’ll see if we can give her the weekend off. That way, you two have the dance together and whatever happens with Marco is left to luck.”

“That… sounds like a good idea… What do you think Marco will say?” She already had an idea, but maybe Glossarick has better foresight.

“Don’t think he’ll say anything, to be honest. I’ll bet he is going to be shocked and won’t be able to form sentences at all.” Star laugh at that scenario, but it wasn’t one she would want to see happen. “After that?” He did have to admit something there. “Have some faith in the boy. I’m sure he isn’t going to let your friendship end like that, aren’t you two best friends?”

Those words didn’t clear all of Star’s worries, but they sure calmed her down a lot. “Yeah, we are. It’s weird and amazing, we know each other for so little time, but we already so close.” She began to smile at her memories she had with Marco. “I love him.” And saying that filled her heart with happiness. “I sure hope to be able to say that to him in person.”

“I’m sure you will. I still can’t believe that boy has you and Heckapoo crazy over him though.” He rolled his eyes and made his way back to the book. “Star, before I go, maybe you should practice what you’re going to say. Don’t think saying you love him out of nowhere will help your situation.” And on that last note, he went back to the book.

Thinking over his words. “Yeah, don’t want to say the wrong words. Maybe…” She reached to the other side of her bed and picked up her book of love charms. Rumbling around the pages for a while. “Here it is. Place this charm and all words you say to your beloved will be the truth from the heart.” She already had an experience like this before last week. Thanks to that she managed to realize how she could open up easily and not say something she would regret. Besides, she wanted Marco to know everything that was inside her heart.

The charms didn’t take too much work to place. Each one of them had different requirements and steps to follow, but none of them were any trouble for Star and her magic powers. Taking out her craft supplies, she quickly fixed herself a string doll, the book specified an humanoid figure but not if some specific material is needed, and placed one of the tears inside of it. The pink doll was no bigger than Star’s fingers, it had tiny arms and legs but no other features. Next came the incantation. Moving her wand, slowly, over the doll in a small circle. Star needed only to think of the magic words and her wand did the rest. As the magic filled the tear, the doll around it began to move, placing its tiny hands over the place where a mouth should be.

Now done with this. Star looked over her creation. “Aw, you're such a cute little doll.” Another thing she made sure to add was that she needed to hold the doll for the charm to take effect. It was more of a safe lock measure. With that done, she placed the doll inside of her drawer and readied herself for bed.

Marco in the meantime was already in bed, alone with his thoughts. His talk with Star took him by surprise, but that wasn’t all. Maybe it was the fact that Star hasn’t mentioned Oscar for a while now, and he just noticed that out of nowhere, now she had another crush, and by the looks of it, it was a big one. By the little talk, they had back there. Marco knew she was heart hurt about him, and he probably didn’t know anything about her crush. It seemed weird too, that Star didn’t want to say who he was, did he know the guy? Maybe Star felt embarrassed by her crush that she couldn’t say it out loud? Perhaps she didn’t trust Marco to keep quiet?

Rolling around on his bed. He tried shooting those thoughts away. It was weird how much sleep this was taking away. It was something about how hurt Star felt, or, that was what he hoped was bothering him. He started to feel bad that he couldn’t feel happy about Star. She found someone special that she loves. Why is he feeling sad about it? Shouldn’t he be feeling worried? He couldn’t arrive at any conclusion that pleased him, so he decided to push all of those thoughts away and go to sleep.

But dammit! As soon as he was able to find some mental peace, he could hear Star’s door opening and she walking downstairs. He could just roll back to sleep but he at least needed to show Star that he won’t sit back while she’s having night snacks that she shouldn’t.

Going downstairs, Marco sneak into the kitchen. Pressing his back to the door frame, he decided to take a glance inside to see if it was really Star. That blonde hair gave it away easily. But before he could barge in and stop her, he stopped in his tracks at what he heard. Was Star crying? Marco has seen her cry before but this looked different and sounded different. Instead of barging in, he decided to walk calmly inside.

“Star, what’s wrong?” The girl turned to meet him with tears flowing from her eyes.

Star turned back around and kept eating her cereal. In between taking spoonfuls of cereal, she managed to say. “Sorry about eating your cereal. I’ll clean up, just go back to sleep.” She continued without another word.

Knowing he couldn’t leave her like this, he approached her and tried calming her down. “Tell me what is wrong Star. I want to help you.” He tried putting his hand on her shoulder, only for Star to brush it off.

“It’s nothing. Leave me alone!” She downed the rest of her bowl and then began pouring herself some more. But Marco took away the gallon of milk before she could reach it.

“You know I can’t do that. Aren’t we best friends?” He kept the milk out of her reach just to be sure. “Just tell me what’s wrong.”

“Fine! I’m jealous alright?” She then placed her elbows on the kitchen board and hid her face with her hands. “I want what you and Heckapoo have, but I’m just not good enough.” Star dropped the angry tone there and began speaking on a meekly, sadder, tone.

Now trying to console her, Marco left the milk to the side and placed his arm around her and rested it on her shoulder. This time Star didn’t fight it. “You’re speaking nonsense Star. You’re awesome and funny, any guy would be lucky to have you.”

Star kept herself in that position, not even bothering to look up. “Then why hasn’t it happen yet?” She stopped covering her face but still avoided eye contact. “It’s just, what’s wrong with me?”

Having enough of this nonsense. Marco grabbed Star by her cheeks and pulled her face up in order for them to meet eye to eye. “Listen to me Star. There’s nothing wrong with you. There’s no other girl like you across dimensions. If that boy you’re crushing on doesn’t see this, then, he doesn’t deserve you.” He didn’t let Star go, nor did he dropped his serious face.

Looking surprised now, Star could only answer. “Do… Do you really think that?”

With the same seriousness, he showed before. “Of course! Believe me, every boy would love being together with you.”

“Even you?” That question took Marco by surprised. So much in fact, that he had to let go of Star and all of his determination faded away.

“Wha… eh… What!?” What’s worse, Star didn’t look away. This wasn’t a joke and Marco realized this fairly quick. Fully nervous now. “I… yes, I would be… happy… if we were to date.” Now it was he who was avoiding eye contact.

But no mattered how much he could have prepared for this conversation, there was no way to prepare for what happened next. “Then why don’t we?” Marco was so shocked that he lost all words to respond. “I mean, why did we never get together in the first place? Don’t you love me?” And it was there that Marco’s mind went blank.

Managing to scrape together an answer, more so out of instinct than with conscious thought. “I do love you, but I’m with Heckapoo. Besides, you already have your mysterious crush.” He tried taking a few steps back, unconsciously like he was trying to escape.

Quick on her reflexes, Star hugged him tightly. “And what if I wasn’t crushing on him anymore? What if the person I love is you?” It was that moment where Marco’s mind blew up. He was now blushing hard and his eyes were lost in the distance. If it wasn’t for Star holding him in that hug, he would have fallen to the ground.

Marco was left helpless as Star began closing in for a kiss. He saw her approaching but wasn’t able to fight back. It looked like Star was going to get that kiss right there, but out of nowhere, a loud sound could be heard from all over the kitchen. Marco then realized that everything around him was shaking and that Star stopped in her tracks. Everything went dark right there and Marco awoke on his bed by the sound of his alarm clock.

As soon as he realized he was in his room. Marco jumped out of his bed and into the bathroom. Inside, he found Star brushing her teeth “Star! Did you eat some of my cereal last night?!” He could have calmed down before asking that, he looked like a madman.

She stopped for a moment to answer. “No, but geez, Marco, I know you’re protective of the stuff, but no need to overreact like that.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Marco approached the sink to brush his own teeth. He firstly washed his face to calm his nerves. That was a strange dream, but nothing more than that. Yes, just a weird dream that meant nothing. “Hey, you’re still wearing my necklace.” Star pointed at the string necklace dangling from his neck. “Had any good dreams last night?”

Hearing those words, Marco took the necklace off and place in front of the bathroom mirror. “What does this thing do again?” He needed to be sure about this.

“It’s supposed to make you dream about the person you love, or the one closest to your heart, can’t really remember, maybe I placed both charms on the thing. So, again, had any good dreams last night?” She gave Marco a playful smile, she wanted to know if her charms work, especially now that she wanted to use one herself.

Maybe he forgot that he was wearing it thanks to his talk with Star. “You know what? I can’t remember, but I usually don’t remember my dreams so it’s my fault.” He shot a half smile towards Star and then went down to the business of getting ready for school. But it was obvious that this was going to be inside his head all day.

He should have said, drilling and screaming all day. It would have been easier if this was a simple, weird, dream, but Star’s magic is the real deal, and Marco couldn’t shake that feeling down, no mattered how hard he tried. One thing was clear though, he needed to get away from Friendship Thursday, he didn’t feel comfortable around Star at the moment. Like, only looking at her would make him blush like crazy, why did the magic dream have to be that livid?

Once school was dealt with, the two best friends made their way home. “What do you want to do today Marco? I know we always watch a movie and eat nachos, but anything else you felt like doing?”

Trying to come up with any good excuse, he had not been able to do this at school so he was struggling hard right now. “Eh… I… don’t think… I can make it today. Sorry.” Sometimes the best excuse is… no excuse at all, apparently.

“Why, is something wrong?” Star wasn’t taken back at his words but at the lack of reasons.

They stopped in front of the house door. “I just don’t feel like it.”

Feeling sad at not receiving a clear answer, but not wanting to push for more, Marco had been looking a bit nervous and distracted today, Star only said. “If you don’t feel like it then it’s alright. Besides, tomorrow is the dance so is not like we will hang out any less.”

Those words made Marco sweat run cold. He had totally forgotten about the dance, and that he promised to take Star to it. Not wanting to think about the amount of awkwardness that will, surely, be on display if that were to happen. Marco began praying for a miracle to happen, something that could excuse him from having to go to the dance tomorrow.

“Are you coming in or what?” Star’s question snapped him back to reality. He decided to spend his free time today coming up with an excuse to miss the dance. Once the two of them entered and passed the living room to go upstairs they had to stop midway, they just noticed their surprise guest.

“Not gonna say hello to your girlfriend?” It was Heckapoo. She was sitting on the couch while drinking water. More than confused that she was there, Marco rushed towards her in order to hug her. It was so fast that the girl barely had time to get up to meet his hug. “Your parents let me in by the way. Did you missed me?” It was half that and the other half was the relief he felt seeing her.

“Of course I did.” Separating from the hug, he asked. “So, what did they tell you?”

Right there, Heckapoo’s smile drop. “They told me they’ll answer me tomorrow. So that’s surely a no.” She then sat back down and got herself comfortable. “So I thought, screw them and came to visit you anyway. Can’t stay too long though.”

Marco sat beside her looking a bit sad. “So, what do you want to do?” The both of them sat there brainstorming for ideas. “Want to stay for Friendship Thursday?”

Heckapoo looked over Star, she was still by the stairs watching them. “Think that will be ok? I thought that was your thing.”

Seeing Marco that happy was worth all the heart crush she could feel right now. Star approached them a gleefully answered. “Of course you can stay! Just last week we had Pony Head join us.”

Smiling now, Heckapoo answered. “Then, I’ll stay. What are we watching?” It took them little time to get everything ready for the night. Heckapoo was happy helping out, but Marco insisted that she was a guest, so it was up to Star and him to set everything up. The movie was awesome and the nachos delicious. It didn’t matter for the couple. They were happy being with the other. And it truly helped Marco clear his mind of his new worries.

Star tried hard not to feel uncomfortable sitting beside Marco, who was sitting beside Heckapoo, and the two of them got into cuddling while watching the movie, making Star feel like the biggest third wheel ever. She blew off work to be with him, it felt like she should leave them alone to enjoy themselves. The more time passed, this point felt like the better option for her.

Marco was happy, enjoying this little moment together with Heckapoo and Star, even if he still felt confused about her, he couldn’t deny that he enjoyed Star’s company. Still, something felt odd about his bestie. Looking at her, it was clear that Star wasn’t feeling alright. He may have an idea what was going on with her. Last week with Pony Head was a get together in between friends, so it was obvious that she may feel out of place hanging out with Heckapoo. He grabbed her hand and held it tight, it was just for a moment, but he wanted to reassure Star that she was welcome there. Star was surprised the moment she felt her hand being grabbed, and her heart raced when she saw Marco’s smile. They didn’t hold hands for too long, just long enough for Star to stop feeling worried, nonetheless, it was enough for her to enjoy herself for the rest of the afternoon.

Once the movie was over. They all had to stretch their legs and/or arms. After a huge yawn, Heckapoo spoke up. “That was fun, I have to admit.” She hugged Marco right there and spoke to his ear. “I’m so sorry that I have to go.”

Marco hugged her back before speaking up. “I loved that you made some time for us.” They broke the hug to speak face to face. “Call me tomorrow if they give you a free pass. I’ll be waiting.”

Half smiling now. “I also enjoyed spending time with you two. And…” She dropped her smile and began looking sorry. “Just… don’t wait up.” She shot her best apologetic eyes towards Marco and exited the house via portal.

Marco’s smile dropped after she exited. Star saw this and decided to return the favor from earlier, placing a helping hand over his shoulder. “Cheer up, buddy, we have Glossarick on our side.”

Trying to brush his worries away, Marco turned around to meet Star. “Yeah, let’s cross our fingers.” Thanks to his time with Heckapoo he managed to calm down enough to feel comfortable with Star again. “Hey, Star, are we still up for tomorrow?”

Jumping back in surprise, Star answered. “Well, yeah, why do you asked?”

“It’s just, wouldn’t you prefer inviting your crush to the dance? I don’t want you to feel that you need to keep me company just because my girlfriend left me hanging.” It wasn’t his confused feelings talking right now. Marco was genuinely concerned about his friend. If he were to interpret part of his dream, he was worried about Star feeling alone.

Not giving herself the time to enjoy the irony in his words, Star spoke up. “Don’t worry about that. I… I really want to go with you. To have a chance to forget about everything, and everyone, else.”

Chuckling a bit, Marco answered. “So, just a night for ourselves. Put all of our worries to the side?” It was a good idea being honest.

“Yeah… won’t you like that?” Putting aside her confession. It was obvious that the both of them had been under a lot of stress since the last few weeks. More than hanging around different dimensions, they both could use a quiet night on Earth.

Driving his hand around his face, Marco had some serious doubts that began to come back right there. But maybe he could turn this around. “I’ll love to Star. Nothing weird, nothing wild. Just the two of us at that silly school dance.” He figured if these feelings have a chance of being real, he needs to find out. Not for Heckapoo or Star, although those were two big reasons there, he needed to do it for himself. He needed to know for sure.

Smiling hard now. “Cool, I’ll go choose a dress for tomorrow.” Star raced upstairs to try every dress she owns, there must be one that would be perfect for tomorrow. Marco stood in that living room for a while before starting to clean everything up. It did help him clear his mind a bit. He was going to need a clear head for tomorrow night.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet. Friday came fast and with that, the preparations for the dance. Star and Marco were inside the school gym helping put everything together. Soon, Janna entered, calling Star over. They both talked beside the stands.

“So Star, you up for tonight at the cemetery?” That question confused Star for a few seconds before it clicked.

“Ah, you still want to summon that clown. Sorry, I’m coming to the dance with Marco.” Star apologized for leaving her friend alone for the night.

“You still haven’t told him, right?” Janna had been worried about Star ever since she discovered her friend’s crush.

Taken aback, Star made sure to whisper in order to hide her next words. “No… but I want to do it today. Do you think it’s a good idea?”

“Of course.” She didn’t really think that, but Star looked so confident, no, she looked eager about it. So she couldn’t ruin it for her. “Although, maybe you would want to do it in a less crowded place, just saying.”

“I know that… I’m a bit scared, you know? Of what might happen after I tell him.”

Janna noticed how this was eating her from the inside and tried consoling her. “Hey, you two are inseparable, don’t worry about that. Just focus on preparing yourself for tonight.” The two of them smiled, it was reassuring for Star to know that she wasn’t completely alone.

While the two of them were talking between themselves, Marco was busy hanging some decorations on top of a ladder. He tried doing it carefully but the ladder moved too much. He wasn’t wearing Heckapoo’s jacket, the one with the weightless charm, so he played it safe. It was while he was having issues hanging the last banner that he felt someone shake the ladder hard and he fell down. Just to be caught on his way down by the person that shook the ladder, Heckapoo.

After she caught Marco from his fall, Heckapoo hugged him tight and spun him around. She was so happy right now and she didn’t bother if anyone saw the two of them together. “Marcoooooooooooooo!!!” She began creating clones right there, which helped the students with the decorations.

“They said yes!” Marco was surprised at all of this, he should already be used to her appearing out of nowhere, still, this was a happy surprise for him. “We are gonna go dancing!” Heckapoo’s clones tidy up the place with a smile on their faces. “We are gonna hit the town!” Marco was starting to laugh right there, everything about this situation made him happy. “Nothing will stop us from enjoying ourselves.” They finished their little dance in the middle of the gym, the clones were done with the decorations, and everybody was surprised, to say the least, but they soon began clapping at the little spectacle that they witnessed.

Now done with their little dance, Heckapoo spoke up in between chuckles. “So yeah, I’m free tonight.” The two of them laugh a bit again. “Or we can go right now if you wish, not like it matters to me.”

“I still need to finish with school. I’ll swing by your house at night, we’ll take it from there.” The two of them kissed and said their goodbyes to the other. They had their date set up, nothing else needed to be said.

Marco was still too happy about what happened that he totally forgot about his previous engagement. He turned around to look for Star, she surely saw what happened, maybe she would understand that he needs to cancel their plans.

Indeed, Star saw all of that. She did feel happy like the rest of the students watching Heckapoo’s little show. But she quickly began to feel sad by the implications. All of her plans rested on this night and now they went down in flames in front of her eyes. Even Janna was aware of how she may feel but tried to play it cool. “Hey… If you don’t feel like going to the dance, feel free to swing by my house later.”

“Yeah, sure, thanks, Janna.” The two of them noticed Marco approaching them and Janna left, she knew they’ll need a little privacy.

Arriving in front of Star, Marco waved Janna goodbye as she left. “Star, I’m sure you saw all that, so…” Finding the right words right now was difficult. Not helped by the fact that all of this could be said under better circumstances.

Smiling, or more like, forcing a smile. Star interrupted him. “You’ll be busy tonight, I get it.” She looked away for a second. “Marco?” If her original plan was a no go for tonight she would need to push it forward. Marco was waiting for her to continue but Star got cold feet at the last second. “I’m going with Janna to revive a dead clown tonight.” That sounded weird for Marco, but he had already heard of that legend, and it was a relief to know Star wasn’t dead set on the dance.

Still, no matter how confused Marco felt, he can’t let Heckapoo down, not after all that had happened. “Fine then, I hope you two have fun. I’m sorry about canceling our plans though.” Star succeeded in not looking hurt right now and managed to smile at him. Marco smiled back but was still distressed about all of this.

Hours passed and later that day, Marco just finishing getting ready for his date with Heckapoo. He wore his enchanted jacket, his pants, the boots, and gloves, even if he wasn’t going to do anything dangerous, he still wanted to look sharp for this night. He didn’t take any of his weapons unless you count the bracelets he got from Quest Buy. Now ready, he made his way towards Star’s room to tell her of his departure.

Entering Star’s room, Marco could only find Glossarick floating around. “Hey, where’s Star?” He looked around trying to find her with no luck.

“She’s downstairs preparing some things for the ritual. You need to speak with her?”

“Yes, I’m going out with Heckapoo and I wanted to let Star know.”

The blue man let out a big sigh before continuing. “Can’t believe she’s gonna use her free time to fool around with you.” He was also aware that Star’s plan was a no go. He was the one that pushed the Commission to give Heckapoo some free time, but he thought it would be less than what they finally agreed. Had they gave her a day less, Star would be free to confess on the dance, but he couldn’t speak against the Commission’s decision when it was he that brought the topic up. This was just a case of bad timing.

Annoyed now, Marco answered back. “I’ll go down to meet Star, see you later.”

Bad timing, yes, but maybe he could still help Star. “Hey, boy, do me a favor.” He approached the drawer nearby the bed and pulled out the little string doll Star charmed last day. “Give this to Star while you’re at it.”

Not wanting to argue right now, he did own him one, Marco agreed to the simple task. Walking out of the room and making his way downstairs, he inspected the little doll a bit more. It was made of pink string and smaller than his index finger. He found it cute, but it was made by Star so of course, it would be cute. Now downstairs, he found Star sitting on the couch with a backpack at her side.

He stood by the stairs and talked to her. “Hey, ready for your night?”

Star was fidgeting on her phone and answered without looking up. “Sure, I’m just waiting for Janna to get ready, we will meet on the way to the cemetery.” She then looked up to meet Marco’s eyes. “And you? Will Heckapoo come by?”

“I’m off to her house now, actually. I just wanted to see if you were ok before I went away.” Silence fell in the room. There wasn’t anything that needed to say, but both of them still had so much to talk with the other. “Hey, Star…” He approached her, stopping beside the couch and presenting the little doll. “Glossarick told me to give you this.” Smiling at the sight of the cute little doll, Star got up and reached out to grab it.

It quickly dawned on Star why Glossarick asked that of Marco. She really thought she would have to wait for another chance to confess her feelings, but Marco was right in front of her and the two of them were completely alone. It was either now, with bad timing and all, or another time that could not come fast enough, or at all. She grabbed the string doll and looked right at Marco, with determination in her eyes.

Holding the doll in her arms, Star felt certain about her feelings. She knew not to fight the truth but follow it, to let it flow and say it out loud. Star felt the magic charm began to take effect on her mind, with several words that she could not wait to say out loud to Marco. But right now she needed to focus, she needed to find the right words. Taking a deep breath, Star let herself go to her magic and hope for the best.

Marco stood there for those few seconds since Star grabbed the doll and began looking at him with those eyes full of resolve. “Star, are you…” He wasn’t able to continue with his sentence as Star shut him up. It was so fast that he wasn’t able to feel surprised nor did he managed to fully process what was happening between the two of them right now. But the truth could not be denied right now. Star was kissing him, she had thrown her arms around his neck and hugged him closer in order to press her lips to his. And what’s more, Marco hugged and kissed her back. Even if Marco couldn’t understand why he was doing this, something inside pushed him to drive the kiss deeper and deeper. It wasn’t till the two of them were out of breath that they finally separated and looked eye to eye again.

It quickly dawned on Star what just happened, maybe she let go of herself too deep in the truth of the heart, but one thing was clear, this wasn’t what she had in mind for her confession. Both of them began to blush and took a step back from the other, but it was Star’s face that went from a light blush to a total red face, one full of embarrassment.

“I SCREW UP!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. Looking at the object in her hand. “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!” Star then threw the little doll to the other side of the room. Now breathing heavily, Star’s eyes wandered over Marco once more. He was now looking shocked and his eyes were anchored on Star. Fully panicking on what to do next, Star screamed once more. “I'M TAKING GLOSSARICK GOODNIGHT!” She then ran past him and upstairs, leaving a confused Marco behind.

“WAIT! Star, come back!” He ran behind her but didn’t manage to beat her to her room’s door. Star closed the door behind her and then turned the door into a metal one with her wand so that Marco couldn’t kick it open.

“Hey, Princess, did everything went alright?” Glossarick saw Star enter the room and how she began to pick up the spellbook and drag it to the window.

Still fully red faced, Star answered. “I’ll tell you on the way to the cemetery!” Now standing by the open window, she summoned a smiling cloud to take her away. Star threw the book on top of the cloud. “YOU COMING OR WHAT!?” Glossarick floated to her side and they were taken away on top of the cloud.

It was too late when Marco managed to enter Star’s room through the bathroom door, he was only able to see the empty room and opened window. Rushing downstairs, he decided to go out and look for her on the way to the cemetery. Once he was in front of the house door, Marco threw the door open, just to find Heckapoo on the other side about to ring the doorbell.

“Ah, Heckapoo! what are you doing here?!” He didn’t even bother hiding how shocked he still was about what happened.

“We… have a date, remember?” It wasn’t anything new to have Marco panicking, but it usually happened for a reason. “I thought I might surprise you and show up early. You feeling alright?”

This could not have happened at a worse moment. Marco wanted so badly to meet with Star and talk to her, but he had his girlfriend right in front of him and it wouldn’t be a good idea to tell her what just happened. Marco tried regaining his composure and shot an awkward smile towards Heckapoo.

“Of course I’m feeling fine. I’m just… so… eager to get on with our date.” He then closed the door and grabbed Heckapoo’s hand. “Why don’t you lead the way?” Heckapoo knew he was hiding something, but she still brushed it off. The two of them had a long night to go through.

As the two of them get on with their date night. Star had finally caught up with Janna and the two of them were just arriving at the cemetery. Star didn’t say much of anything, a simple hello, and several short answers, it was so obvious that her mind wasn’t all there, if her attitude didn’t give it away her blushing face certainly did.

Now that they were able to find Bon Bon the Clown tombstone, they unpack what they needed for the ritual and Janna began her interrogation. “So, Star, anything good happened to you?” Even under the blush and the obvious panic, Janna noticed Star smiling from time to time.

“No, nothing out of the ordinary.” She smiled a bit awkwardly to Janna. “What would you even think something happened between Marco and me?”

“I… don’t. I didn’t even mention Marco.” She gave Star some suspicious eyes right there.

“Oh.” Star was caught. As Janna started placing the candles on the cake, giving her the suspicious eyes, Glossarick joined the conversation.

“So, Princess, how did your confession go?” Star jump in surprise at that question.

“So that’s what happened!” Janna finished with the candles and talked directly to Star. “You confessed to Marco, but what did he tell you?”

Not having any more reason to hide the truth, she spoke up. “He didn’t say anything, I... kinda… ran away… before he could.”

“HA!” Janna wanted to keep laughing, but she was tactful enough not to keep going at it. Glossarick just rolled his eyes at Star’s answer, he had already done the most he could. Janna noticed how Star reacted there like she still regretted it the whole thing. “Cmon Star is not like you kissed the guy.” She went back to placing the things for the ritual and quickly realized how quiet Star had gotten. Looking back at her, it was quite obvious what happened. Glossarick had noticed this too, and it was he that started reacting loudly, which made Janna smile and Star curled up and hide her face. “YOU GUYS KISSED!” Screamed Janna in the middle of that cemetery. None of them knew they were being heard at the moment.

So, Star wasn’t good at hiding what happened. The same couldn’t be said about Marco, he managed to keep his shock a secret. He needed to, there was no other choice right now, not with Heckapoo sitting right beside him. He still tried contacting Star from time to time using his phone. “Marco, you’re gonna miss the show.” Heckapoo noticed Marco texting with his phone and prompted him to put it away.

“Sorry, won’t happen again.” The two of them arrived at a desolated planet in the middle of its night cycle. They sat on top of an old stone pillar to look at the starry sky. Heckapoo told him that a huge meteor shower will be happening this exact night and wanted to watch it together with him. The sky wasn’t only stars and constellations, but several nebulas of different colors, and no moons or other planets weirdly enough.

Maybe she miscalculated the exact time of the event, but she was sure it will still happen, they hadn’t missed, but they were waiting more time than expected. More time to talk about their problems. “Marco, what’s bothering you?” She was worried about him right now, he was so distant at the moment.

Marco didn’t react to that question, he just looked sad and sighed before speaking up. “It’s just… I’m worried about Star.” Not entirely untrue. “She has been hurting a lot over some boy, and I can’t do anything about it.” He could deduct who she crushing on and how harsh his relationship must be affecting Star right now. Still, he tried hard to twist the truth so that Heckapoo didn’t find out about what happened. Putting his own confusion aside, he didn’t know what to do in this situation, or how to help Star.

Maybe he began looking sadder than he thought because Heckapoo hugged him closer right there. “Have some faith in the girl. Besides, she has you, I’m sure you’ll find out how to help her.” That didn’t help much. Especially if he was the source of Star’s problems. Right there, something caught their eyes at the horizon. It was one of the meteorites that ran in the sky. “Look! It’s starting.” They both sat there looking at the sky, enjoying the spectacle.

It was weird, Marco had never seen a meteor shower before, but he was sure they didn’t come in such different colors. It was like a firework show with the colors on display. Even the stars in the sky were outshined by them. All of this did manage to clear Marco’s mind for the time being. Like all his worries banished at the moment. The two of them sat there and enjoyed the rest of the show.

By now, Janna and Glossarick had fallen asleep while waiting for the ghost to appear. Not able to brush the thought about Marco away, not helped by the fact that Janna and Glossarick teased her to no end about what happened. Star decided to approach the spell book, she could hear snoring coming from inside and asked the half awoken Glossarick about a spying spell. He directed her to the All Seeing Eye in Eclipsa’s chapter. After a light warning, he went back to sleep and Star cast the spell. The All Seeing Eye showed her Marco and Heckapoo sitting on that stone pillar looking at the sky.

She was able to see how lost they were in the moment. Just the two of them sitting close together, with Marco looking happy right now. Maybe he didn’t need her to have fun tonight at all, it was obvious that he was happier with Heckapoo than he could be with her, and the two of them were just looking at the sky. Star remembered the kiss they shared before, she could have sworn that Marco kissed her back at the moment, but it must have been her imagination. Before she could dispel her magic, Heckapoo threw herself at Marco and kissed him on the lips. Right there, Star’s magic wand glow green and without controlling it, her own magic affected them, even on another dimension.

The stone pillar where they sit crumbled beneath them. Thankfully, both of them landed fine and safety on the ground. Star jumped in surprised at what just happened, dispelling her magic, she ran towards Janna to speak to her about what happened. Just as she awoken Janna, they noticed the candles on the cake going off.

Janna stood up and ran towards the cake with Star at her side. “Look, he is rising.” Janna smiled expectantly at the strange figure looming over them.

But once the candle lit on again, the figure laughed at them. “Surprise!” Removing the clown nose, the figure revealed himself to be Ludo merely dressed as a clown. His minions walked into the scene and the girls were quickly surrounded by rats. “Miss me, Princess?”

Star and Ludo began blasting each other with spells, he was aided by his spider and eagle, but Star made quick work on them. Janna tried dealing with the rats alone, but she was having more difficulties all alone.

Once they walked away from the destroyed pillar, Marco spoke up. “Are you alright? That came out of nowhere.”

Dusting herself off. “Yeah, yeah, too bad that interrupted us though.” She smiled at Marco and reached out to hugged him. “Why don’t we continue where we left?” That tone she took sure made Marco a bit nervous, but he happily complied to that.

It was right there, as Marco held Heckapoo on that hug, that he noticed something new in the sky. It was a red half-moon. He could swear that wasn’t there before, and for some reason thought of Star. He broke the hug and checked his phone. Star hasn’t responded to any of his texts or calls. Maybe this was a long shot, but he could feel something was wrong. “Heckapoo, it’s Star, we need to find her.”

Heckapoo wasn’t able to say anything back. As soon as Marco spoke those words, he pulled out his scissors and opened up a portal back to Earth. She decided to follow him on whatever hunch he was feeling.

Crossing the portal, the two of them found Star opening a black hole to get rid of Ludo. “Star!” Marco called to her, and as soon as he caught her attention, the black hole suddenly got out of control, glowing green and blasting the Ludo and Star away. As soon as Star landed, the hole began sucking her in, and she struggled to hold on.

Looking over the situation, Marco also noticed Janna being surrounded by rats. “Heckapoo, go help Janna, I need to help Star.” Doing as instructed, Heckapoo summoned her clones to help her fight the army of rats.

Marco ran towards Star, but Ludo’s spider blocked his way. Before he could punch her though, another clone of Heckapoo appeared in front of him. “I can hold him, just go!” Marco didn’t argue with her, he continued running towards Star.

Approaching Star, Ludo said. “Aw, Looks like you need a hand, Princess!” But before he could shot Star’s hands away, Marco tackle him to the ground in front of Star. “Get away from me boy!” Ludo managed to shot Marco away. Now facing off, Marco was about to start the fight, but right there, Ludo’s eagle joined his side, with the spell book.

“You want to steal my book?” Star screamed from behind Marco.

Ludo walked to the eagle’s side and began to order him. “Great job. Fetch Spider. We have what we want!” Before they could fly away though.

“And you think I’ll let you go?” Marco took a step forward to fight them, but Ludo just laugh.

“I think you have your hands full with something else!” He pointed right at Star who was beginning to lose her grip.

Marco looked back at her and began to reach out and grab her hand. But as soon as he did that, the eagle began taking flight. So Marco spun around and grabbed the book, while at the same time grabbing Star’s hand. Now, Marco was the middle link of this little chain. On one way, Ludo and his eagle were struggling to snatch the book away from his hands. On the other, more important, end, he was holding Star’s left hand to keep her from getting sucked into the portal.

“Marco, let me go, or you’ll be sucked in by the black hole too!” Star begged Marco to run away to safety.

“Are you crazy, I’m not letting you go, nor will I let him get his way!” He kept his grip tight, but the eagle was beginning to fly up, lifting him from the ground and making him lose his footing.

“Either you let me go, or I’ll have to make you do it!” Ludo prepared another spell and aim it right at Marco. “Destroying you should be easy as pie.”

Star saw how Marco would surely be hit by that blast and reached out to whatever she could find that could help them. She, luckily, was able to reach out for the birthday cake. “I think you mean piece of cake!” Star then threw the birthday cake right at Ludo, hitting him right in the face, and with the candles lighting up, making Ludo think he caught on fire.

“I'M ON FIRE! I'M ON FIRE! PUT ME OUT! PUT ME OUT!” Hearing his command, Ludo’s eagle let go of the book and began slamming him on the ground to turn the flames off.

It was the moment that Ludo let go of the book that the backlash from Marco’s grip sent him flying backward, not helped by the strength of the black hole sucking him further in. It was so fast that he let go of Star hand, losing his only grip.

But before the black hole swallowed him whole. Marco reached out for his scissors and stabbed the ground to stop himself. Still, he was half inside the hole, with the hand holding the spell book all the way on the other side of the hole, and the scissors weren’t that good of an anchor.

Letting out a big sigh. “I had enough for today, and I already know what’s on the other side of that black hole. Let’s retreat.” Ludo commanded his forces to withdraw, leaving them all alone to save Marco.

Star wasn’t fully in the clear right now. She was fast enough to regain her grip on the ground after Ludo let go of the book. She tried reaching out to grab Marco’s hand. “Marco, grab my hand!”

Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see a chain of Heckapoo’s clones reaching for him. “Marco!” The clones were beginning to get close to Marco, but as they get closer to the black hole, their flames began to be snuff out, making them disappear so that’s not going to work. Heckapoo then saw Janna grabbing Star’s hand and helping her reach Marco, she decided to hold Janna’s hand from the other side to give them more length.

Still, Marco was waist deep inside that thing, so they weren’t reaching long enough. “Jump! You have to jump!” Marco could hear the girl's words ordering him to jump forward to grab Star’s hand. Their voices were mostly muffled by the hole, but he still could hear them.

Looking up, Marco saw Star’s hand it wasn’t close, at all, but maybe if he can just grab her it will be a win for him. He hesitated for a second though, and Star noticed. “Marco, I won’t let you go trust me!” Her words filled Marco the courage he needed to make that jump. He held the book tight to his body and used the scissors buried on the ground as support to pulled himself forward with all his strength.

He made that jump, he even managed to pull a foot out and used it to jump forward. He could see his fingers reach so close to Star’s but to no avail. He barely touched Star’s finger tips before getting sucked whole to the other side. Leaving all of the girls with dumbfounded expressions, but that quickly turned into shock and terror. Star could only fall to her knees and cry while hugging Janna, while Heckapoo couldn’t react to what just happened, she just walked forwards and picked up Marco’s scissors that were still buried on the ground.

On the other side of the black hole. Marco found himself in the void between dimensions. No scissors and with Star’s spell book by his side. Finding himself in zero gravity, he looked around and found nothing that could help him. At least this couldn’t get any worse. 

As soon as he thought that, the spell book opened. “Now, where’s that dead clown!” Out came Glossarick wearing a party hat. “Wait, this isn’t Earth.” He looked around and only recognized Marco. Looking at him sternly. “What did you do now, boy?”

Marco could only groan at the horrible situation he was in right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what you're all thinking. Why didn't the ghost clown appeared? I imagine that with all that happened Star and Janna will be too distracted to set up everything right for the ritual. I'm taking some extra time after this, we are half way through the story as it is anyway.


	8. Marco in the Wild

It took a bit of time to get Glossarick up to date on everything that happened back on Earth. After Marco had finished his explanation, Glossarick began pondering on everything. “You know, you could have held onto your scissors, let yourself get sucked in, and then use them to get us out of here.” Marco could only get a look of dumbfounded realization as he floated without saying anything else.

A few minutes later, Marco was ready to ask. “Where even are we to begin with?”

“In the void between dimensions.” And he said nothing else, which clearly didn’t calm Marco down.

Managing to shake the frustration out. “Ok, how are we going to get out of here?”

“Well, don’t suppose you have a magic wand with you.” Marco nodded a no. “Our only option then is to wait for a portal to open up, hope it leads us to a safe place, and call for help.” This longer response did manage to ease Marco’s nerves. At least they have a plan right now.

He was not prepared for what came next though. “So, how long will that take?”

Thinking for a second. “Weeks, months, years? Could happen tomorrow or in the next minute, there really isn’t a way to tell.” And Marco’s face went white with fear. Noticing the shock on his companion. “Cheer up boy. At least you don’t need to eat, drink, or stay under normal gravity to keep your muscles from atrophying.” Marco looked at him with a confused face, it suddenly clicked for Glossarick. “Oh no wait, that’s me. Yeah, you’re screw.” But he missed Marco’s angry scowl as he turned around.

Marco grabbed the book and sat on top of it. “So, best option right now is to keep our eyes peeled in case that portal opens up. Let’s hope it doesn’t take long.” He turned around to give Glossarick his back. “You stay on your side and scout ahead, I’ll look over this one.” And Glossarick sat on the opposite end of the book.

A few hours later and exhaustion began to set in for Marco. Just sitting on top of the spell book. He had already set his mind to keep talking with Glossarick to a minimum, but at the moment, he would take anything over boring silence.

“So, eh, how was Star after she left the house?” Maybe not the best of topics but this was still eating up his mind.

“Blushing, panicked, and a bit happy. Kissing your crush will do that to you, I guess.” None of them turned around to meet the other, but he could still feel Marco react at his comment. “What? I saw it coming a mile away. Don’t know how you couldn’t”

This didn’t help Marco feel any less responsible for Star’s hurt feelings. “It’s just… I mean she never… I… I don’t know what I should do.”

“You better find out soon. I don’t even want to imagine Star’s emotions getting out of control.” Marco wanted to question that, but Glossarick spoke up before he could. “How was Heckapoo by the way? Don’t think she is spending her free days like she wanted.” And made his felt even more guilty worrying Heckapoo to death right now.

“We had a nice date just the two of us. First one in a long time actually. She’s been so busy these days.” He began to feel sad at all that has happened till now. “Do you think we can make it work?”

Without missing a beat. “Nah.” Now Marco remembered why he didn’t want to talk in the first place. “Don’t get me wrong. She deserves to be happy, it’s just that you two come from way too different worlds.”

“What do you know anyway? If we love each other, who’s to say we can’t make it work?”

Suddenly, Glossarick appeared in front of him. “Do you really, boy?” Marco jumped back in surprise. Floating back to his side of the book. “I’m just saying, maybe Star isn’t the only one with something to confess.” Feeling like he just got caught, and annoyed again by the little man. Marco decided to keep himself busy scouting for some portal to appear. He began feeling tired and he couldn’t keep his eyes up. Marco quickly fell asleep. 

Some hours later, Marco awoke on top of the same book, still feeling tired and with nothing new around him. “Had a good sleep?” Asked his companion, sounding like he had his mouth full.

Still exhausted and half asleep, he stared at the void before answering. “My bones feel smaller.” Another question appeared in his mind. “How long had we been here?”

Taking a few seconds to respond. “About ten hours, give or take.” He slept for a long time then.

He could hear some weird sounds coming from Glossarick that caught his attention. “What are you doing?” Marco reached out and turned him around, revealing that he was eating some pudding. “You had food all this time?!” He picked Glossarick up and began shaking him, several empty packs of pudding fell down. “WHAT THE HELL MAN!!!” His anger grew as he noticed how hungry he was.

Swatting Marco’s hands away, Glossarick answered back. “Damn, boy, I was under the impression you didn’t like pudding. Besides, I did offer but you didn’t answer me.” Marco got so angry that he began shaking him again, just to see if he still had some with him.

“C’mon, you hoard the stuff, you must have some left!” Glossarick took none of it and again slapped Marco’s hands away. They both stare each other down before Marco opened up the spell book and began turning the pages. “There must be something here that could help us!”

Looking at him uninterested, Glossarick spoke up. “Of course it is, but without a magic wand, there’s nothing much we can do.” This didn’t stop Marco for looking though, and Glossarick could only wait for him to grow tired of it. After some minutes had passed. “Stop it already.” He closed the book in Marco’s face and he floated away to keep looking for a portal. He felt the pudding packs bumping him on the back of the head. “And stop throwing trash at me.”

“I’m… not?” Marco looked at the pudding packs moving, slowly, towards Glossarick. It may be a long shot, but he placed himself in front of Glossarick in order to get a better look. Squinting his eyes at the distance, he caught a glimpse of light. “Look!”

Glossarick took a look at where Marco was pointing. “Lucky us, that looks like a portal.” There were already in the direction towards the portal. “Now we can sit back and relax, we will reach the portal soon enough.” Another thought ran on his head right there. “Unless, if the portal is strong enough to be carrying us even at this distance…”

After that thought crossed his mind, they began to speed up, rather fast to be honest. And as they got closer to the portal, the more momentum they gained. It got to the point where Marco had to hold onto the book as to not get separated, and Glossarick hung onto Marco’s jacket. They quickly approached the portal and Marco prayed to end up in the right place to call for help.

Once they were shot out on the other side of the portal, another problem arose. They were flying too fast across the sky and too scared to do anything. At first, they saw only sky and clouds, the portal delivered them way extremely high up. Once they started to lose altitude, they could see a deep forest beneath them, and they were approaching it fast. Marco could only grab onto the book as it began hitting the top of the trees, ricocheting all over them and/or breaking some branches on its way. He grabbed on tight once he noticed the ground soon approaching. The book hit some rocks along the way and it bounced for a few meters till it finally stopped by a running river.

Once they stopped on the ground, Marco took a deep breath and stood up, he checked himself to see if he had any injuries, finding nothing and then sigh in relief. He quickly looked around the area and then focused on the water in the river. “”Water!” He ran towards it, he felt so thirsty after all that time in the void. Glossarick quickly got out of his pocket.

“That was a fun ride. Now, let’s look around.” He was about to survey the area but was stopped once he heard Marco scream.

“OH GOD!!!” He placed his hands on his stomach and ran towards the trees.

Looking confused for a moment, Glossarick’s doubts were cleared once he heard Marco groan loudly. “Oh, yeah, you can’t go to the toilet in zero gravity. Well, I’ll let you to it.” He then began floating up all the way to the sky and began to look at the horizon. Nothing but trees and mountains till his normal eyes could see.

Going back down, Marco was still busy behind the trees. “So, you found anything?”

“Yes, lots of trees.” He sat on the book and waited for Marco to finish.

“I’m talking about houses or buildings, something. Do you even know where are we?”

“Of course I know. We are on Mewni!” He began fidgeting with something right there.

“WHAT!” Marco finished up quickly and ran towards the water to clean his hands. Once there, he asked Glossarick. “That’s fantastic! We just need to go towards the Butterfly Castle. Where is it?” He felt happy knowing this was soon to be over.

Pointing in front of him, towards the tree Marco was hiding in before. “Over there-ish. I don’t know much about the wilderness here, to be honest.”

“C’mon, you must have something that’ll help us.” He was almost begging the blue guy right there.

Thinking for a moment. “Be careful of the dire wolves.”

Perturbed now. “Dire wolves?”

“Oh yeah, enormous things. They tend to pass through these lands this time of the year.” Thinking for another second. “But I’m sure they won’t notice you. You’re nothing but skin and bones.” All of that didn’t ease Marco’s mind.

Ready to pick up the pace now. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” He began making his way into the forest but was stopped by a huge weight being dropped on him. “What the hell?” He looked up and realized that Glossarick dropped the spell book on top of him.

“What? We need to bring the book back to Star.” Said Glossarick sitting on top of the book.

“Are you crazy? This thing weighs a ton!” He tried taking some steps, but the book weight was too much. “Make it fly or something.”

“Don’t know how long we’ll be here, I gotta save my energy.” He snapped his fingers at Marco to prompt him to begin moving.

Dropping the book to his side. “I’m not carrying it on my back.” He looked around and got an idea on what to do. Gathering some grass and tree bark. He was able to fashion some rope. Throwing the rope around the book, he managed to tie it together and then wrapped the straps of rope around his shoulders, like a backpack’s straps. “Now, this is way better.” That task took an hour and a half at most, good thing it was still morning.

“Are you done yet?” Asked Glossarick, soaking his feet on the river.

Rolling his eyes at Glossarick, he didn’t even help him with this simple task. “Yeah, hop on we have a lot of ground to cover.” He glanced towards the blue man and quickly noticed something, he was carrying the ring Star gave him. Running towards Glossarick, Marco snatched the ring out of his hands before screaming. “Where’s Star?!” The ring began glowing red for a bit, but it soon died out.

“Don’t think it will work if she isn’t in the same dimension.” Glossarick spoke his mind and then sat on top of the book. “Let’s go!”

Marco sighed in defeat, placed the ring inside of his pocket, and grabbed the ropes connected to the book. “Tell me if you sense something off.” Marco then began to drag the book across the forest. As time passed, Marco began feeling more exhausted, dragging the book was way better than carrying all the way, the few places where the book got stuck were few and far apart, luckily. But soon enough, he had to stop and take a good rest. He dropped the ropes when they were near a mountainside.

Glossarick then whipped the ropes as horse rains. “Heya boy! Don’t stop out of nowhere.”

“Don’t get annoying right now, please. Besides, I need to…” He turned around and saw what was going on and why he got tired so fast. “What’s up with all the rocks!” He half screamed at Glossarick, he was still recovering his breath, as noticed how the top of the spell book was filled with rocks of several sizes and forms.

“These, I found them during our way through the forest. Aren’t they pretty?” He grabbed some of them to show Marco.

Groaning at him now, Marco answered. “Look, I’m too tired and hungry to argue right now.”

Smiling brightly now. “Hungry?” Glossarick then pointed towards the mountainside. “Look over there, boy.” Marco, still recovering his breath, looked up and saw only stone. “No, boy, up!” Marco raised his head to look further up, only stone. “No! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, up there.” Glossarick stretched his arm almost at a ninety-degree angle. There rested a lone berry bush sticking out of the stone, almost dry for the lack of water.

“Those berries should keep you going for a few days.” Glossarick then sat on the book with nothing more to add.

“ARE YOU CRAZY!!!” Not counting the fact that he was exhausted, but that the bush was barely even visible from the ground, he could not even see if it had some berries on it.

“Well, I didn’t want to do this, but here…” Glossarick threw one of his rocks at him, Marco caught it with his hand. “You can eat one of my rocks, you eat rocks right?” Marco could only groan at the idea, and his stomach rumbled right there. “Aside from that, don’t think you want to go back to the river to catch some fish, and we haven’t seen any animals around.”

Realizing he didn’t have another choice there, Marco walked towards the mountainside. He then remembered something important, he was wearing his enchanted jacket. Climbing this mountain should be a breeze. Right there, he also remembered he had his combat bracelets. So he already had the hooks to climb and he didn’t need to worry about falling. Turning his bracelets into hooks, he began climbing. The jacket made sure he did it without losing too much energy, but there were times when he wasn’t able to fully burrow the hooks deep enough and he almost slipped. Other than that, it was smooth sailing for most of the time.

Just as he had the bush at hands reach, he burrowed one of the hooks deep enough to get some support and then turned the other one back to normal to have a free hand. He then began to, slowly, reach for the berries. The little bush was brown and dry, but it still had one branch with a handful of yellow berries. As he finally grabbed the branch and was ready to tear it from the bush, Glossarick appeared from outside his field of view. “Are you done with it yet?!” That surprised caught Marco off guard, making him jump back in surprise, making him tore the branch with more strength that he intended to, and taking his last hook off.

Marco got scared and began screaming, but soon enough regained his composure and span around to land on his feet. “What the hell Glossarick!?” He stood up and brushed the scare away. “If you could float over there from the beginning, why didn’t you bring me the berries yourself?”

Cleaning his ears, Marco’s scream of terror was really loud, Glossarick answered. “I’m not your servant to be bringing you food, nor your mother to be feeding you.”

Screaming full of frustration right there. Marco inspected the berries he grabbed. In his surprised state, he had crushed most of them, except one. “Look at what you did!” He showed Glossarick what happened.

“I didn’t crush them, besides, that should keep you going for at least a day.” He then threw all of his rocks out of the book and then lay flat on the book. “Take your time, I’ll be waiting.”

Marco looked at the little berry in his hand and then at Glossarick. He was confused at his statement but he still ate the berry whole. He suddenly felt his belly filling up fast. “What is this stuff?” He no longer felt hungry, but still felt tired.

“Magic berry fills you up but that’s about it. Don’t expect it to give you any nutrients.” Glossarick then rolled to his side and fell asleep.

Satisfied with his answer, Marco got on with the task of dragging the book through the forest. Just as he had the ropes over his shoulders, a loud howling could be heard from somewhere in the forest. This scared Marco a bit, and Glossarick spoke up. “Those will be the wolves I told you about. We better get moving, that sounded awfully close.” With that said, Marco picked up the pace.

It quickly began to get dark. Once Marco realized they had an hour of daylight, at most, he stopped nearby a huge tree, ready to make camp. Gathering some dry wood and dead leaves, Marco began making a fire pit for the night ahead. Glossarick awoke in time to see Marco struggling to make fire with some wooden sticks. Marco began to get frustrated and stopped for a moment.

Glossarick floated nearby Marco. “Having issues with the fire?”

“Can’t you do something? You haven’t even lift a finger since we got stranded.” He looked at Glossarick with an angry scowl.

“You want to use me as a lighter now?”

Marco screamed in frustration at the whole day he has had before saying. “You’re just as lost as me! Least you could do is help us survive.”

Glossarick sighed and then said. “If I help you with the fire, will you take care it doesn’t go off? Marco nodded in agreement. “It’s a deal then.” Glossarick then placed his fingers over the gem on his forehead, making a laser shot right at the pit Marco had made. It quickly made the dry wood catch fire. “Done!” He decided to call it a night and go rest inside the spell book.

Looking a bit shocked at what he saw right there, Marco sat on the ground for a few seconds before getting up to gather more wood for the fire. He was going to need to keep that fire alive for the whole night. He did that till the night began, and having nothing else to do, and feeling exhausted, he fell asleep.

As the night was drawn out. Marco awoke by the sound of wolves howling in the distance and saw the fire about to die out. He stood up and grabbed some of the wood he gathered beforehand and placed it on the fire. Making sure the fire livened up, he stayed awake to watch over it for a while. As the fire began to get stronger as before, he was beginning to doze off. But before he could, some weird noises got his attention.

He walked around the camp, trying to figure out where it came from. It wasn’t Glossarick, his snores were very unique. Those sounds were more like small animals, weird as he hasn’t seen any animals around. The noise began to grow louder and Marco got impatience, he grabbed a tree branch at lit it on fire in order to take a better look.

Marco approached the sides of his camp and used the makeshift torch to bring light to the darkness. He squinted his eyes at the shadows, trying to figure out what was hiding inside of them. Not finding anything, he turned around and made his way back to sleep. Just to be attacked from behind by an unknown enemy. He felt several things trying to scratch him back and neck, but he quickly threw them off. Looking back at his attacker, he saw a bunch of rats gathering around him, and he could easily guess who command them.

They launched themselves back at Marco to attack, but he was ready now. Turning one bracelet onto a sword and with the lit torch, on the other hand, he managed to fight them off quickly. He then ran towards the book to wake Glossarick up. Once he got out of the book, half asleep still, he spoke up. “What do you want now?”

“WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!!!” Screamed Marco and then grabbed Glossarick’s eyes and moved his head towards the little group of rats approaching them. “Make the book float!” He grabbed the ropes and Glossarick did as asked. Fighting off the first rats that approached them, Marco held the ropes tight and activated his magic jacket. Thanks to this, he was able to run fast enough to lose the pursuing rats. He ran through the forest in that random direction for a while. After a few minutes, Marco’s torch began to doze off, giving him less light to see ahead. It was thanks to it that he totally missed that cliff on his way.

He fell down that cliff, losing his torch and the book rolling behind him. He stopped only after he hit a tree on his way down, and it didn’t help with the spell book crashing after him. Marco struggled for a few minutes to get up, and afterward, he couldn’t find Glossarick under this heavy darkness. He also noticed that his torch lit fire to some grass as it rolled down. That was bad, if the rats were still on his trail this was sure to lead them directly towards him. Marco tried to pick up the book to keep going but he soon found out that the ropes had snapped during the fall, the only option left was to carry the book.

It was an awful plan, yet he still tried it. He didn’t get too far before getting attacked by the rats. He threw the book down and began fighting back, but he could swear they were a lot more than before. Maybe they joined another group in their pursuit. Every time knock one down, other two took its place, and he still couldn’t see Glossarick anywhere to ask for help. The rats soon surround him, attacking from all sides, biting and scratching him all over. He tried holding for as long as he could, but to no avail, there were just too many.

Marco soon felt on his knees and was overwhelmed by his enemies. He felt for sure that this was it. The exhaustion, his wounds, and all of the enemies surrounding him gave him no hope in this situation. He crouched and protected his face and neck with both arms, closing his eyes right there and waiting for whatever that may happen to happen. With his eyes closed, he could only feel the rats threw themselves on top of him.

It was right there when Marco was sure everything was over for him, that he felt the rats getting thrown away from him. Still keeping his eyes closed, Marco could hear growling and fighting noises around him. He thought for a second that Glossarick had come back to help him, but those sounds were nothing like the guy. Standing up and trying to look around the darkness. Marco could only see flashes of white fur belonging to figures way bigger than any of the rats he fought before. Stumbling around the battlefield, Marco tried taking the spell book and run away, but another of the rats attack him tripping him right there.

Marco was about to kick the rat away, but one of the strange figures beat it to the punch by dragging the rat away. Marco was dumbfounded at what happened but he still crawled to the book. He was exhausted, wounded, and scared, but he was determined to get away and survive. When he felt the book at arms reached, he began picking it up, but soon realized the fight had gone fully quiet back there. Not wanting to think about it, he began to carry the book away.

But before he could walk away, one of the mysterious figures stood in front of him. Marco stood the book behind him and closed his eyes. It took a few minutes before the strange figure reached out to him and Marco could feel its breath on his face. He was ready for an attack or something of the like, but what happened next surprised him. The figure in front of him began licking his face, making him remember the laser puppies back at home. Opening his eyes, already used to the night darkness, he was able to take a better look at the figure.

A huge white wolf with blue eyes stood in front of him. Looking around, he noticed two more wolves looking right at him, each one of them bigger than a lion. All of this was too much for him at the moment. Marco collapsed right here, with the spell book falling on top of him.

It took a while for him to wake up. Marco didn’t open up his eyes at first, he found himself way too comfortable right now. His legs were rested on bedrock but from the torso up it felt like a fluffy bed. It soon dawned on him that his new bed was moving up and down following the rhythm of his breathing. He opened up his eyes slowly to find out where he was actually resting, besides one of the large wolves that ran into him earlier.

Jumping back in surprise, Marco got away from the wolf. “You finally up, boy?” He could hear Glossarick speak to him.

Looking around, Marco was inside a cave with a huge entrance, he noticed daylight coming inside. Glossarick was playing with another of the wolves on his own side of the cave, with the spell book sitting on the floor nearby. “What’s going on here? And, what happened to you? You disappeared out of nowhere.”

Floating towards him. “Oh, it looked like you had everything under control back in the pursuit, so I decided to slip back in the book.” Right there, the both of them noticed the third wolf entering the cave, carrying something in its mouth.

The wolf then laid a dead bird at Marco’s feet and sat there waiting for Marco to take it. Confused by everything he was seeing, Marco questioned Glossarick. “And what do you make of this.”

Having witnessed the wolves dragged Marco to the cave and protect him from the cold, Glossarick was as puzzled as Marco about this. “Dunno, maybe you have some dog treats in your pockets.” Marco found nothing but Star’s ring in his pockets. “Well that’s weird, dire wolves aren’t known to take care of other animals.”

Marco was still pretty confused about everything, but he decided to go with it. The wolves had plenty of time to harm him while he slept and he still had some wounds, nothing too big or deep, that needed to be taken care, besides, he did wake up with some hunger. Marco took the dead bird and exited the cave, with the wolves and Glossarick following behind. The outside of the cave was surrounded by rocks with some vegetation around, the tree line starting some extra meters away from where they were.

Marco was able to gather the materials for another fire and build it fairly quickly. He began preparing the bird he had and watch as the wolves spread towards the forest, he thought nothing of it at first. As he skewered the bird to cook, the wolves came back, carrying more dead animals for him, go back into the woods, and come back with more. He saw how the wolves placed their prey beside him and then sat around the campfire. One after another, Marco cooked the food he was bought, he also noticed that one of the animals brought to him was a rat similar to the ones that attacked him last night.

After some minutes, the food was ready and Marco began to dig in. In between bites, he took some of the animals and threw them at his new friends. In one of his throws, two of the wolves began fighting over the same piece of meat. “Hey, cut it out!” He stood up and was surprised that it worked. The wolves stopped with the fighting and sat still. This gave him a new idea to try out.

Once they were done with lunch. Marco asked the biggest one of the group. “Go fetch the book… please?” He was moving mostly on the practice he had with Earth dogs back home. The wolf did as asked and ran to the cave, bringing the book to him minutes later. Marco patted him on the head as a thank you and then spoke to the other two wolves. “Gather more wood for the fire.” He signaled the fire pit as he spoke, and the wolves looked a bit stoic. “You know… wood… dry wood…” He picked up one of the branches he had gathered and the wolves went on with the task.

Glossarick saw all of this from the sidelines. He waited for the first wolf to let the book to rest on the ground before speaking up. “Boy, are you a werewolf? Because I can’t think of anything else that explains this.”

Approaching Glossarick, Marco noticed the remaining wolf walking beside him. “I… don’t know…” He was thinking hard for ideas right now. Something came to mind once he noticed the wolf smelling him. “Maybe I smell like them. The fur on my jacket is real…” Something clicked right there. “My jacket! Heckapoo sewed fur from the God of Wolves to it.” He spoke up towards Glossarick, proud of his answer.

“Maybe it’s more than that.” The blue man began to ponder right there, while he inspected the fur on the jacket. “You and Star killed that thing, right?” Marco nodded in agreement. “You do know how some animals chose pack leaders, don’t you?” Marco stared at him dumbfounded. “Legend says the God of Wolves commands all packs.”

His idea got some back up as the wolves returned with the firewood Marco asked for. He stared at the three wolves, now sitting in front of him, and got a new idea. “So, I’m pack leader now?” Marco approached the wolves and scratched them behind the ears. “Say, Ludo’s forces are still looking for us, so there’s really no safe passage out of the forest.” He then looked towards the spell book near Glossarick. “And you told me we could go home if we had a magic wand.”

“Stop wasting time and speak up boy!”

“Why don’t we bring the fight to him? We are no longer alone, and we can track him down better than he can track us.” They both thought the idea over for a few seconds.

“But, you really think you four can do it?” Glossarick raised a fair point.

It was a long shot, but Marco needed to try this, it was all he had right now. He gathered the wolves around him and spoke to them. “Hey… guys… I need you to go find more packs. Tell them to come here before tomorrow night. But one of you needs to stay here.” The wolves just stared at him without saying anything or reacting. “Please, I need all the help I can get for this.” The wolves looked at each other and then began to run towards the forest, it was the bigger one that stayed behind.

“Well, cross your fingers. What are we going to do in the meantime?”

“We need to find Ludo’s hideout. I gave them a full day to find help, I want to attack as soon as we can.” With a belly full and now determined with a new plan. Marco readied himself to go to the forest. “Hide yourself and the book inside the cave.” He then spoke to the last wolf. “And you protect him from anything that may want to take him away.” The last wolf took the book back inside the cave with Glossarick following behind. With those two things dealt with Marco ran inside the forest to carry on his mission.

He stayed on top of the trees, walking along the branches and hiding on the leaves and he made his way deeper into the forest. Even with the excess foliage, it didn’t take long for him to find a patrol of rats. They weren’t walking with a set pattern, but they weren’t closing in on his campsite anyway, so he had nothing to worry about.

As the rats were only running around with no direction, he decided to stay away from them. Scouting a bit farther from the campsite and found another patrol. He observed them closely and noticed that the two patrols weren’t that far away from one another. It was obvious that they were scouting together to cover more ground, but this gave him an idea. If he could force them to retreat back to their base he would need only to follow them back.

Right now he was still hidden. He approached them silently in order to ambush them. Standing on the branches on top of the rats, he descended unto them, catching them by surprise. With his fists alone, he dispatched them fast enough and then waited in place for the second group to appear. It didn’t take long for that to happen, and he took care of them just as fast. He also made sure to rough them up a ton, he needed them to be hurt enough so they would retreat. He also had the advantage of surprise and he took advantage of the sunlight he still had.

Making sure to scare the conscious enough rats that still remained, Marco ran deeper into the forest, to appear to be retreating. Once he was out of sight, he climbed on top of the trees again and followed the rats running away. He kept them in sight all the way out of the forest. Noticing the corn fields and, the lack of trees, Marco landed and follow them by foot, staying hidden thanks to the tall corn plants. While he ran between the fields, he lost sight of the rats and began walking stealthily as to avoid being found out.

Once he saw the end of the fields, he peaked outside and saw a huge tree sitting on top of a hill. Feeling like he overstayed his welcome, Marco retreated back to the forest. Before he went back to the campsite, he took another look at the fields. They were huge and he couldn’t see anyone tending them, but he did see some rats walking out of the tree. Ludo must have all the rats looking for him. As he was surveying the area, Ludo’s eagle soared the sky above him, Marco crouch to avoid being spotted and was surprised by its presence, he had totally forgotten about it.

He waited for the eagle to get out of sight to stand up. Realizing the night was soon approaching, Marco ran back to his cave. Going back to the campsite, he stopped only to have some water by the river, even if it took him extra time to make that detour, Marco’s only option was to think of a strategy while he waited for reinforcements to arrive.

Arriving at the cave by sundown, Marco found Glossarick resting by a lit campfire. “Hey, found what you wanted?”

Marco sat down beside the resting wolf and spoke up. “Yeah, a huge tree by some corn fields.”

“Good, now we can lay back and relax.” Glossarick didn’t move from where he was.

He didn’t need to think about his answer. “That’s all you have done since we arrived.”

“Yeah, but now I can do it knowing we have a way back.”

The wolf rested his head on Marco’s lap. “So, you ok with teaching me magic?”

“It will be my duty once you get that magic wand.”

Another thought worried Marco right now. “Hey, isn’t there a way to at least contact home? Star and Heckapoo must be worry to death about us.”

Thinking for a second. “Maybe this could help.” He presented Marco with a cell phone, more specifically, Marco’s own cell phone. Glossarick then placed the phone in his hands, leaving Marco totally dumbfounded.

Marco was about to shout at him with all his energy but managed to contain it at the last second. “What were you doing with this anyway?” Still, he couldn’t contain his anger.

“Wanted to play with it to avoid boredom. You’re lucky, it still has some charge.” He saw as Marco facepalm in frustration.

“What else did you take from me?” Glossarick rumbled around his tunic.

“Here’s your wallet and keys.” He watched as Marco grew annoyed with him. “What do you think happened to them in the first place?” Good question, Marco hadn’t even thought of his stuff since he arrived.

Sighing, Marco answered. “I don’t know, I was too busy trying to survive.” He tried to phone home and then Star, but to no avail, he had no service in the middle of the wilderness, which was a huge duh once he thought about it. “Well, phone’s dead. Let’s just wait while the wolves arrive.” He laid down on the floor and doze off. He was going to need all the energy he could for tomorrow.

For Marco, his rest lasted a few seconds and he woke up at the sound of the wolves howling. In reality, he slept till sunrise and still felt a bit tired. He found himself alone on the floor, and Glossarick spoke up from the cave’s entrance. “Rise up boy! You’re gonna love this.”

Exiting the cave revealed what Glossarick was talking about. Marco was awestruck at the sheer number of wolves that congregated around the campsite. They reached the tree line and were mostly brown wolves, but some black and gray ones could be seen here and there, none of them as big as the only three dire wolves thought.

Directing himself at Glossarick, who was by his side. “Have you count them?”

Nodding a yes. ”You can round them to a hundred. Not bad for an army.”

Having some doubts about his plan. “But, I gave them a full day. Why would they come back so early?”

Glossarick just shrugged. “There are just so many wolves in the area. Besides this is good, I ate my last reserves of pudding last night. Go get that magic wand so we can get home.” He was about to retreat back into the cave.

“Hey! I can’t leave you here alone. You’re coming with us.” Marco screamed at the blue man before he could get away. “You can stay behind with some of the wolves.”

Without protest nor any more remarks. “Fine, better than to wait here looking at nothing.” He then levitated the spell book to his side and together with Marco they walked in front of their new army to take a closer look.

The wolves were mostly resting and playing around. Some of them were munching on food, but all of them paid attention to Marco as he walked near them. As he did his walk around the group, Marco noticed something. “Weird, there are no females or pups for that matter.” Not like he checked all of the animals for genre, it was something random he noticed while walking around.

“Someone has to watch the fort while they are away. You did call them out of nowhere.” Glossarick noticed Marco getting uneasy at this whole thing like he suddenly was having seconds thoughts. But he knew how to turn him around. “Well, what are you waiting for boy? Command them!”

That made Marco jumped a bit. It didn’t erase all of his doubts, but it did make him feel determined to end things now. “Ehm… SIT!” He yelled at the crowd of wolves, and all of them did as instructed. Now that Marco got their attention he realized he hadn’t thought of any plan of action. Scrambling for ideas now. “We need to… We are going to fight against a monster and his minions right now, so I need all of you to follow me to his lair!”

He walked towards the forest, at the direction where Ludo’s hideout was. Signaling the wolves to prepare, the three dire wolves formed behind him. Glossarick stayed amongst the normal wolves, and at Marco’s signal, all of them began running behind him. It didn’t take them long to arrive at their destination, or more like, at the end of the forest near their destination. Marco needed to survey the area.

Climbing the tallest tree he could find, Marco was able to locate Ludo’s tree and noticed a cave entrance that probably led underground. He also noticed something more important. The eagle was circling around the corn fields, surveying the area like him. It then stopped at the top of the dead tree, standing on top of the tallest branch. Looking down revealed several rat patrols moving between the corn fields, but not inside of them. And no giant spider, which kinda troubled him. Maybe Ludo got scared that he jumped two of his patrols while at the forest and decided to prepare for a stealth attack. There were a ton of rats down there.

Getting down from that tree. “So, they are ready for an attack, but not one coming from an army.” Now the only thing he needed to decide is if he wanted to go for a full blown frontal assault or the stealthier route. Still, there was one thing that has already been decided. Pointing at a group of ten or so wolves around Glossarick. “You guys are staying here and watching over the blue man and the book.”

Glossarick then rested the book on the floor and sat on top of it. “No argument there, besides I have a great view of the fight from here.”

Marco began having second thoughts about all of this. “Be honest. Do you think we can do this?”

Thinking for a second. “If you were to ask me out of context who would I root for in a fight between an army of rats and one of the wolves, I think my answer will be obvious.” This did manage to lift Marco’s spirit. “I mean, you would have to be a total idiot to lose this fight.” And Marco’s little smile faded, replaced with a pair of annoyed eyes.

Directing himself at the wolves now, Marco began explaining the plan. He will take half of the wolves and the biggest dire wolf with him on a frontal assault. The first group will try to get all the attention of the guards, make their way inside of their base and find Ludo. The second group that stayed behind will attack just after Marco has entered the hideout, trapping all the guards in the middle of the two groups. As far as plans get, this was the best one they had right now. The only problem was that eagle, it couldn’t go on alerting the guards about the second group.

Not having extra time to think about this. Marco ordered the wolves to get ready and wait. He waited for the eagle to finish his rounds around the area and for it to rest on top of the tree before launching his attack. The first group ran at top speed towards the closest patrol, then the next one, and the next one. A flood of wolves covered those corn fields, the growling and barking could be heard from miles away.

The group made their way to the entrance of the cave and were suddenly attacked by the eagle and a bunch of rats that had just circle around the fields to meet them head on. The battle dragged on at the cave’s entrance for a while, and Marco knew this was bad for his plan. He needed to push forward no matter what. Getting serious now, Marco brandished both of his bracelet swords and began plowing on the rats, making a beeline to the entrance. Signaling to his dire wolf to break down the makeshift door, the wolf threw itself at it, breaking it in one go. Marco commanded his group to get inside.

Back with Glossarick. He was loafing around with his personal guard watching over him. “So, I guess none of you play cards.” The wolves said nothing in response. Right there, a loud howling coming from the battlefield could be heard and the second group of wolves began to mobilize, leaving Glossarick alone with his little group. “Things sure are heating up over there.” He rumbled around his tunic for a few seconds before finding a pack of pudding. “Aha! I knew I still had one of you with me.” He pulled out a spoon and began to dig in.

The blue man was so enraptured by the pudding that he totally missed the little window to another place opening beside him. From the other side, Star jumped in excitement at the sight of him. “Glossarick!”

That caught his attention. “Oh, hi Princess.” And he kept eating. “Thought I told you not to use the All-Seeing Eye.”

“That’s all you’re gonna say? You and Marco have been missing for days!” She screamed from the other side. “Where is Marco, is he with you?”

“Not right now, he is out there fighting against Ludo and his minions.” He, disinterestedly, pointed towards the battle.

“What! So you guys were on Mewni this whole time?!” Upon close inspection, Star looked like she had been crying for a while now, and her distraught tone didn’t give any indication of the contrary.

“Well, not the whole time, we were in the void for a while.” He tried to say something to calm her down. “Don’t worry about us though. We are southeast of the Butterfly Castle, by the corn fields. You can probably go to your friend Buff Frog and ask him for directions. As soon as Marco gets the magic wand, we will meet with you.”

Star listened in silence and was baffled at his words. “Wait, you knew where the castle was all this time. Why haven’t you two go there and ask my mom to get you back to Earth?” She didn’t even bother hiding her anger. “I’m not waiting here, I’m making my way there!”

Looking up at the tree tops, Glossarick noticed something important. “Well, you better come quick. That spider up there looks about ready to snatch me away.” True to his word, Ludo’s spider was creeping around the tree branches, ready to descend upon the group.

Marco right now was running around the cave tunnels, finding more resistance inside. He had his doubts about bringing the wolves inside, he thought space will be too cramped to navigate and fight freely. Luckily that wasn’t the case, the caves were spacious enough for his group to move around.

But he found another different kind of problem inside. The fact that he really had no way of knowing where Ludo was hiding. There were several ways the caverns branched and if he were to check them all himself, Ludo was sure to run away. He could separate his group to check on all of them at once, but that left them open to an ambush, thinning his forces. Deciding on the middle ground, Marco split his group in two, one lead by the dire wolf that had followed him inside and the other he took command himself.

Marco followed deep underground, noticing the patrol of rats running away at the sight of his army. And still no spider, the eagle must be busy in the fields, the spider should have been underground keeping watch. Getting deeper into the hideout, he soon found his target.

Bursting into the room with his forces yelling. “LUDO!!!” He stepped into the room and looked at Ludo surrounded by his rats.

“Boy! I was expecting you.” Just, not with the wolf army.

Thinking for a second about how defenseless the whole the hideout was. “Well, you could have prepared better. Anyway, I came here for the wand now hand it over.” He stayed near his wolves and began walking, slowly, towards Ludo.

“And what? You think I’m just going to hand it over?” He began powering up his magic and his rats had stopped looking scared. “Face it, you're fighting in my territory and it’s only you and your little group. I take you out, the rest of them should fall back.” He knew his rats outnumbered Marco’s wolves three to one easily and that filled him with confidence.

Sensing the atmosphere, Marco’s wolves began showing teeth and snarling at the group in front of them, none of them backed down. “Last chance Ludo,” Marco spoke coldly, only to be met by a magic blast to the face, which he parried with both swords.

The fight started after that. With Marco and Ludo squaring off in the middle of their groups. None of them could get a clean hit on the other, every time Marco got close enough to cut Ludo, he managed to give him the slip and get away from him, while Marco dodged and parried every blast Ludo threw his way. The few rats and wolves that tried to get in the middle of them were quickly dispatched. So it soon turned into a duel with a battle going around them.

Something felt familiar for Marco as the fight dragged on. He felt his blood boiling and his senses sharpen. He even began seeing red, which was both good and bad right now. Even if Marco found himself enjoying the fight, he got lost in this new mindset and began to throw defense out of the window. Deciding to push forward and close the gap between him and Ludo, Marco began taking some hits here and there, but nothing that would knock him down.

Ludo began sweating hard here. Marco was reaching him faster than before, and even if he could back away fast enough and land some hits, this couldn’t last for him. So he decided on some more chaotic approach. Loading his magic wand with power, Ludo shot several blasts in different directions, all of them bouncing around and hitting the walls and ceiling. It didn’t stop till the fight drove to a halt. Even Marco had to snap back into reality in order to avoid the sheer number of blasts.

All of those blasts took a toll on the integrity of the room. Everything began shaking and rocks fall around them, with Marco’s group being the most damaged out of all of them. Ludo took this breather and charge even more magic into a big enough blast to punch a hole in the ceiling, opening an exit to the outside fields, although a bit too high to reach.

Ludo began to laugh as he saw the sunlight come in. “Well boy, it was a fun fight, but I have to run!”

Confused by his words, Marco yelled back. “I won’t let you get away!” As he ran towards Ludo to attack, Marco was covered by web coming from the ceiling.

It was Ludo’s spider, and it was carrying the spell book. The spider then webbed up a makeshift rope for the rats to escape. “See, I really was waiting for you all along! My spider went behind your army to capture the book.”

Marco was almost free from the web when he heard a loud howling coming from the cave, more specifically, the way he used to get to this room. “OVER HERE, DON’T LET HIM RUN AWAY WITH THE BOOK!!!” He screamed at the top of his lungs and the rest of his wolves soon entered. Ludo began climbing the rope from the moment he heard the howling and was delighted when he saw his eagle standing near the hole, his escape was sure now.

Marco finished cutting the web that bound him and was quick to jump and grab onto Ludo, thanks to his enchanted jacket. The wolves tried jumping to the hole using the walls but to no avail, so he was alone on this. “You sure are persistent. Take this!” Marco prepared himself for a blast to the face, but Ludo opted to shoot towards some loose rocks in the ceiling making them fall and hit Marco square in the face.

Grabbing the rope at the last second, Marco pushed through the pain and dizziness to climbed up behind Ludo. As soon as he got out of the cave and stood up, he fell to his knees, that blow to his head was worse than he first thought, not that it will slow him down anymore. Marco saw Ludo on top of his spider being carried away by the eagle over his retreating army. He had the book and Marco couldn’t lose both the magic wand and the book. Marco began to run behind them, but his legs had trouble keeping up over his head injury.

That quickly changed once the other two dire wolves ran to his side, giving him an idea. If he couldn’t keep up, he would have to ride on top of one of them. That did help him catch up before Ludo could take too much altitude. The two wolves managed to fight off the rats while they ran beside them.

Marco launched himself at Ludo and, like before at the graveyard, took a hold of the book, only this time, it was the spider that began kicking him to let go. And it wasn’t any better now that the spider was kicking him right in the head, adding extra pain to his already existing pain.

Cornered right now, he thought about letting go but one quick look down discourage him, those rats looked hungry. Marco then decided to rely on the one person that has spent the last three days testing his trust and patience. “Glossarick, DO SOMETHING!!!”

Right there, the book opened so fast that it managed to swat the spider legs away. Glossarick then made the book float in place as he spoke up. “Ah! Sorry boy, I snooze off for a second. How’s the raid going?” Marco climbed on top of the book and pointed behind him. “Oh, yeah, we better go back.” He began moving the book towards the wolves running behind the rats.

Ludo took a quick glance at the picture in front of him. Marco was about to regroup with his army and his rats were severely wounded, another look at his eagle and spider revealed several scratches and bite marks around their bodies. So he decided to make a strategic retreat and continue with his exit.

Glossarick by now had landed the book in the middle of the wolves and Marco spoke up. “Let them go, we all had enough for today.” With that last note, Marco rode one of the dire wolves back to Ludo’s hideout, he was too tired and injured to continue on his own. They all stopped around the tree and Marco sat on the ground, his three dire wolves soon joined him. “Go tend to the wounded ones.” He wasn’t able to check on the rest of the wolves himself, but he could easily assume there has to be several of them injured.

Again, the bigger one of the dire wolves stayed with him, maybe he wanted to protect him. Glossarick then rested the book beside him “So, no wand?”

Rolling his eyes at him. “Yeah, no wand, but at least he left the forest, and I have these guys to escort us through. We should find our way back safe enough.”

“So, in the end, all of this amounted to nothing?” He could hear Marco groan, but he had some hours till Star found them, so he wanted to tease him all he could while they were alone.

Now looking at the wolf in front of the two of them. “Sorry I dragged you all into this.”

“Ey, don’t worry boss, we are all happy to help.” Marco jumped back at the sight and sound of the wolf talking to him.

“You could talk all this time, or did I take too many hits to the head?” All of Marco’s pain took a backseat to all of this.

“Yes, you may have taken too many hits, but I do can talk.” This, surprisingly, didn’t ease Marco’s mind. “If you think I speak too little, my two brothers barely speak, even to me, so don’t take it, personal boss.”

Feeling kinda awkward now. “Well, now I feel worse having asked you to fight for me. Sorry, I just wanted to get home.”

“I already told you, boss, we are happy to help. Besides, I understand, you got separated from your mate and wanted to go back to her.” He said that so sure of his words.

Confused now. “My, mate?”

“Well, I don’t know how you call her, but I do catch a smell similar to yours, and coming from a female. I have been smelling it since the wind started to blow this way.”

Marco jumped again, it may be a long shot, but he pulled out the ring he got from Star out of his pocket. “Where’s Star?” The ring then glow red and a little red line shot out of the pearl, the line pointed at the direction the wind was blowing. “Glossarick! Star is here, we have to go find her!” He tried standing up, but his head injury began acting up, making him feel dizzier than before.

Marco felt so tired on top of all of that, he laid down and began to snooze off. “I’m just going to… take a nap… I’ll go looking for her… when… I… wake…… up.” And he fell asleep right there. Glossarick was kind enough to cover him with the spell book and the wolves guarded the area against any danger.

It may take a while, but Star and Heckapoo had a location now, they were more than determined to find him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's hope next chapter comes out faster.


	9. Its Complicated.

Star and Heckapoo followed the directions given by Glossarick, they were so desperate to find Marco. They had gone through all possible location spells they knew, and when that didn’t work, they ran around all dimensions that Marco was familiar with in the glimpse chance he ended up there. So when they finally heard news of them, they missed no time to meet them.

Finally arriving near the former hideout Ludo was using revealed an interesting sight. “Those are a ton of wolves.” Star could only say in surprised confusion. Most of the wolves didn’t even pay attention to the two of them as they walked deeper into the corn fields. It was an unsettling walk for both of the girls, especially when two huge dire wolves appeared in front of them and prompted them to follow behind. Like they were escorting them. “Think they’ll take us to Marco?”

“I don’t even know what to think now. I have never seen wolves act like this.” Heckapoo couldn’t get any coherent ideas about this, but it was the slight possibility that Marco is here that drove her, and Star, further.

After some minutes of walking, they soon found Glossarick playing catch with some of the wolves. Both of the girls ran to meet him. “Princess, Lady Heckapoo! Good thing you were able to join us.”

It was Star that screamed at him. “Where’s Marco!!!” The blue man was taken aback by the rudeness, but he complied and pointed at the direction of a third dire wolf resting on the ground, with the spell book sticking to its side. Both girls ran to the book and found Marco sleeping inside a little tent made out of the spell book. It was Heckapoo that approached him to take a closer look, Star sat down beside her.

The first thing she checked for was vitals. Those were normal, which made the two girls sigh in relief. Next was to look for any external wounds, aside from some scratches and bruises, mostly centered on his face, there was nothing serious. Lastly, Heckapoo woke him up gently.

Marco awoke while lying on the ground looking up to the sky. As soon as he opened up his eyes, he saw Star and Heckapoo looking over him. He, slowly, sat straight and placed his hand on his forehead, he was still hurting over the hits he took in battle. The girls missed no time hugging him tight, both of them, and Marco hugged them back. He could hear them sob a bit while they were group hugging.

“You’re fine! Dammit, Marco, you had us dead worry about you!” Heckapoo spoke up. Finally having Marco beside her lifted a huge boulder out of her shoulders and she only needed to let out all of her emotions right there.

Trying to calm them down, Marco spoke up. “I’m sorry about it, I couldn’t even contact you.”

“Just, what happened to you, why are you so rough up?” Star asked.

“I was trying to get Ludo’s magic wand so I could get back home. It’s the fight that messed me up.” Indeed, Marco had a huge black eye, with some popped blood vessels too, from where the rock hit him on his right side. Several scratches on his left side and a broken lip. “Now, could you please give me some space? I took way too many blows to the head.” They did as asked.

“Let me take a look.” Heckapoo rumbled around his hairs to see if he had any injuries. She found a few bumps on his head. As soon as Heckapoo touched them, Marco cringed in pain. “Sorry. You need to come home, we’ll tend to your wounds there.” The girls stood up and helped Marco to stand up.

“Give me just a second.” Asked Marco and then turned to his friend the dire wolf. “Hey, think you and your brothers can see that all the wolves find their way back?” The wolf just nodded yes and then got close to Marco and he hugged him goodbye. “Thanks, man… wolf… thank you.” He then waved goodbye to the other two dire wolves and walked with the girls towards Glossarick.

“Marco, do the honors here.” Heckapoo handed him his dimensional scissors back and Marco smiled when he held them in his hands.

Opening a portal back home, the little group exited Mewni and entered into Earth, more specifically, Marco’s bathroom. “Why here? I thought you would want to rest after all of that.” Star was confused as his election.

“I do, but I also hadn’t bathed in three days. So I thought I should shower, it will be better for all of us.” The group hadn’t even noticed his smell till he brought it up, but they needed only a sniff to give him some privacy. The rest of the group walked into Star’s room to wait for Marco.

Now inside Star’s room. “Well let’s go, Heckapoo.” Glossarick missed no time addressing Heckapoo.

“What!?” The girl jumped in surprise. “I just got my boyfriend back and you want me to leave?!”

“I just thought you’ll want to talk with the Council about everything that happened.”

“Hell no! I’m staying till I know Marco will be alright.” She stood her ground, nobody was going to take her away from this house.

Glossarick rolled his eyes at her and then spoke up. “Look!” He opened the spell book on a specific page and placed in in front of Star. “That spell should help Marco. Just follow the instructions to the letter, Star.” Star read the spell in the book, it was simple enough. “Now, we can go and make our report.” He smiled at Heckapoo, but she was unimpressed.

“Still, I’m not going. That can wait a few hours.” She then sat on the bed and wouldn’t budge, no matter what Glossarick said.

While Marco showered and then began to get ready. Star practice the healing spell while Heckapoo and Glossarick talked about what they did on those three days. It didn’t take long for Marco to entered the room with his usual clothes. “Thanks for waiting. So, what’s the plan?”

Star walked towards him and grabbed his hand. “You are coming with me. I have to mend your wounds.” She took Marco and instructed him to lay on her bed. “Now, don’t move, and trust me.” She smiled at him and then got in bed with him, sitting on her knees by Marco’s head and placing her magic wand on his forehead. “Here we go!” And with that said, Star’s magic wand began glowing blue and she began to sing the incantation written in the book.

Heckapoo sat by the bedside and held Marco’s hand tight. She was still worried about the boy, but she placed her faith on Star, and that eased her mind a bit. It took a few minutes for the magic to stop and Marco’s pain began to fade away, but only a little. “Now, just four more sessions of that every hour and you’ll be alright.” Said Glossarick after Marco stood up.

“Sorry, it’s the slow kind of recovery.” Star apologized, but Marco wasn’t bothered about it.

Heckapoo helped Marco getting up and then asked. “Are you hungry?” Marco nodded and she began walking him to the door. “Come, I’ll fix something for you in the kitchen.” The two of them exited the room. Star soon realized they had to explain everything to Marco’s parents, so she ran behind them and out of the room.

Lunch was fine, and the three of them were able to explain everything to Mr. and Mrs. Diaz, they were mostly happy to have their son back, almost, unscathed. Marco then told the girls all about his little adventure. But soon enough, they decided that Marco needed to rest after all of that. Even if Heckapoo was against it, she and Glossarick needed to talk with The Magic Council about what happened. Marco was saddened by this, he was away for three days in the wilderness and he sure will prefer to spend more time with his girlfriend, but there was nothing he could do.

Once the two of them made their way out, Star tried to take Marco’s mind away from the sadness. “Hey, come here, we need to follow on your treatment.” She signaled to her bed and Marco complied.

Preparing the same way they did before. Marco lay facing up and Star sat on her knees by his head. Now that they were alone, Marco was able to fully concentrate on his treatment. Star’s voice was soothing and the sensation of her magic flowing in him, fading his pain, filled his heart with a warm feeling. He could easily fall asleep there if this moment wasn’t so short lived. After Star finished, Marco opened up his eyes and the two of them took a moment to lock gazes. Some minutes later and they both got up. “So, I guess you didn’t go to school.”

Star laughed and they both got to the task of asking around for their homework. They spent the rest of the afternoon with school work, Marco’s magic treatment, and talking about whatever, just the two of them. Soon enough, Glossarick and Heckapoo came back. She had decided to stay with Marco for the night, but she did look a bit happier and not only because she found her lost boyfriend. They all got ready for bed, but Marco still had one last magic session with Star. Heckapoo left them to it, deciding to wait for him in his room. She needed to change clothes anyway.

That went like the other sessions. As the magic healing went on, Marco’s face went back to normal, no more bruises or scratches on his face. This one may as well be just to be sure everything went back to normal. Again, Marco got so comfortable with Star that he took some extra minutes to get up. Star didn’t mind that, she has been happy since they found Marco, but she did want to make sure all of this was real.

Marco had his eyes closed when Star placed her hand on his cheek. Like she was trying to make sure all of this was real. Marco’s eyes shot open and saw Star smiling at him. Star then leaned closer to him, enough for her hair to hide her face thanks to the shadows. Marco by now was blushing hard but found himself unable to move.

With a meek voice, almost a whisper, Star could only say. “You were gone.” Marco’s heart began beating faster. “Marco, you were gone, I lost you.” He then began to feel sad, he sure hadn’t thought about how hard all of this must have been for the girls. Star then prompted him to sit up and she hugged him closely. “I’m sorry, if I had been stronger, that would never have happened to you.”

Holding her tight and trying to find the right words. “It’s not your fault, don’t think like that.” Star didn’t say anything to him. “I’m here now, ain’t that what matters?” He really didn’t have anything else to say. He knew they had to talk about Star’s feelings for him, but he also knew this wasn’t the right time for that.

It was Star that separated from Marco before speaking up. “Yeah, you’re right, and now you're all healed up!” She smiled at him, and Marco calmed down a bit.

“And it’s all thanks to you.” He began to stand up. “Goodnight Star. I’m happy about being back home.”

“Goodnight, have fun with Heckapoo!” She waved Marco goodbye and threw the biggest smile she had towards him.

Now back to his room, Marco took just one step inside and he suddenly got what Star’s last words meant. That made him cringe a bit, but he managed to shut those thoughts down. He saw how happy his girlfriend was while laying on top of his bed as soon as he entered. “So, anything good happened at that meeting?” He sat down by the bedside to talk to her.

Resting her head on Marco’s lap, Heckapoo spoke up. “That obvious huh?” She chuckled a bit before continuing. “The Council was so happy, and impressed, that I went out of my way to find Glossarick and the spell book, and on my free days no less, that they decided to give me next weekend free.” Marco perked up at her words and she noticed. “So, next weekend, we can be together to our heart's content.” She then sat straight they kissed. “And this time, nothing will get in the way.”

Marco smiled and kissed her again before answering. “I sure hope so. I don’t want to leave you hanging like this last weekend.”

Heckapoo lay down on the bed and got comfortable. “It wasn’t your fault, so don’t worry. But I’m already planning something good for us, just you wait.” Marco laid next to her and they cuddle as they snooze off.

Next day Heckapoo ate breakfast with him and retreated back home, leaving Star and Marco to get to school just the two of them. Everything carried on as normal, and Marco was happy about that. His little adventure may not have been too out of the ordinary, but a good slice of tranquility was welcome right now.

Star was still happy just to have him back that she totally forgot the huge elephant in the room that needed to be addressed. But her week wasn’t as normal as she wished for. Thursday after getting back from school, she received a heads up from her mother. Friday after school, she will be getting a review on her training from a special teacher. Those words made her panic so much that she got to the task of cleaning everything in her room, nothing dangerous nor prove that she was breaking the rules could be visible for when the teacher came to test her.

All that commotion attracted a confused Marco to wander inside her room. “Hey, is everything alright?”

In between picking up random items and throwing them inside the closet. “Of course not! My parents are going to send a fairy godmother to evaluate me!” It was obvious that she was panicking hard now.

“But, you have Glossarick, why would they need to test you?” Marco pointed a fair argument while sitting on Star’s bed.

Almost like his words summoned him. “I know, right?!” Glossarick approached Star and helped her pack her things. “I’m a good teacher, I work hard with the student I was handed. There’s no reason for the Queen and King to be so worried about Star.” And he slammed several weapons inside a treasure chest and then sent it to another place with magic.

“By the way, I’m going to need you to cook some food for the godmother.” She was going to need all the help she could get to get on the godmother’s good side.

Marco could only look a bit taken aback at her request. “Tomorrow?”

And Star noticed this. Taking a minute to talk to him about this. “Yes, after school, can you do it?”

Having some doubts there. “You see, Heckapoo wants me to spend the weekend with her, like, pack a bag with clothes and I’ll come back Sunday afternoon.” He could see Star looking a bit sad there. “But, I don’t see why it can’t wait till your evaluation is over.” He shot the biggest smile he had towards Star, and judging by how she lighten up, it worked.

“Alright then! Now I just need some quick practice to be fully ready.” She was talking to Glossarick right now. The blue man summoned some bullseyes and Star went down to business. Marco knew he better let them to it and walked back to his room.

He had already asked his parents for permission to spend the weekend with Heckapoo, so that was taken care of. But now, she needed to ask his girlfriend if she was fine with starting their weekend a bit later. “Hey, you free to talk.” He asked via text.

The answer was quick. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“Hey, I need to help Star with something tomorrow afternoon, so…”

“You aren’t going to be ready to go when we wanted.” Marco cringed a bit, hoping Heckapoo won’t be too mad at him. “It’s fine, but I’m going to be there too.”

“Wait, what?” Marco was taken aback at her response.

“Not going to take any chances. I’m going to keep my eye on you as much as I can.” Marco swore he could see her smile after she sent that text.

So it was settled, tomorrow Star will have two extra spectators during her evaluation. Friday afternoon came quick, and Marco had finished arranging all the food on a table, with a little help from Heckapoo. “Well Star, everything’s ready.” Marco tried calming Star down, she was losing her nerves a bit.

“Thanks, Marco, I just hope it’s enough.” Star began pacing back and forth.

“C’mon Star, you have this in the bag.” Heckapoo approached her and placed a helping hand over Star’s shoulder.

“Besides, you have me, no better witness to your abilities than your magic teacher.” Glossarick chimed in to calm her down.

All of those encouraging words did help her a little, but nothing could have prepared her for what came next. From her window came in a swift cloud of smoke that ate all of the food Marco prepared. All of them were surprised at the sight of the little cat floating in front of them.

All except Glossarick, he could only muster a weak salute. “Baby.”

“Hello, Glossarick.” The godmother said with little emotion on her tone. “I’ll like more food, please.”

Marco said in a hushed tone. “That took us all day to make.” But he quickly complied as Star asked him, Heckapoo went with him to help. This left Star alone with Baby and Glossarick.

“So, your… Baby-ness, how does this evaluation works?” Star was still confused about all of this.

Not dropping her emotionless voice. “How do you think it should work?” She summoned a pen and a notebook to take notes. Star tackled this by showing Baby her room, the Closet of Secrets, although, Star wished they could skip that part. But Baby seemed to like all that she saw, well, she found it ‘interesting’. Whatever that meant. “Now, Ms. Butterfly, how is your spell casting?”

“My spells? Oh, they are great.” Star felt confident about this part of the evaluation. “My spells are awesome.”

Without missing a beat. “Good. Would you bring me that apple, please.” Baby then summoned an apple on top of the table and said nothing else. Star tried handing the apple over the normal way but was stopped by Baby. “No, I meant, bring me that apple, with magic, please.” Ok, some clarity was welcomed. Right there, Marco and Heckapoo entered, bringing more food, with the help of her clones. Baby ate all of it as quickly as before thought.

But she didn’t ask for more food, so the two of them sat on the floor to see what happens next. “Don’t worry about us Star, pretend we aren’t here.” Star smiled at Marco and went back to the task at hand.

Spell after spell, failure on top of failure. Star was getting more desperate by the minute. It was after her spell didn’t even move the apple from the table, they just morph into different shapes. That Glossarick chimed in. “Baby, perhaps this isn’t the right test for the Princess. She is extremely skilled, just not in this matter.” He tried defending Star, he had sat on the sidelines for too long.

“Glossarick, I hear your complaint and have decided to ignore it. If she is as skilled as you say this should be easy.” She didn’t even look at his direction, she just summoned another apple for Star and waited for results.

Knowing he won’t be able to change her mind, Glossarick talked to Star. “Now, Princess, just calm down, you can do this.” He couldn’t do much right now, but he could at least encourage her.

As Star got busy with her task, Heckapoo got busy with her boyfriend. The two of them sat on the bed, far enough as to not bother Star, but Heckapoo grew bored of the show and began teasing Marco a bit. She went for the normal touches and holding his hand, which made him giggle a bit. Can you blame the girl? Last weekend she lost Marco and now they were stuck here while a whole couple weekend awaited them. She went from light touches to small kisses, and Marco happily kissed her back. They soon shut off the rest of the world to laugh and talk amongst themselves. They did try keeping it down, but they were loud enough to be heard by Star.

Star tried concentrating on her test, but she could see Marco fooling around with Heckapoo out of the corner of her eye. She stood there half looking at the two of them while trying to focus. Didn’t help that she had not one, but two people talking to her now.

“Princess, the apple, please.” Baby was trying to get Star’s attention.

“It’s easy Star, just give her the apple.” And Glossarick wasn’t going to be left behind on this.

She tried hard to gather some energy, this may be her last try. But she could still hear Marco laughing at Heckapoo’s jokes. “The apple, please.” And Baby once again. “Just give her the apple.” Ok, not helping Glossarick. Could they not see… “Princess, hello?” No, shut up Glo… “Princess.” In a minute Baby! And now all that focus was lost when she heard that giggle again. “Just clear your mind.” She could if the two of you left her alone for a minute. Star’s wand began to glow green for a bit. “I should have asked for more food.” Now Baby was beginning to get bored. Didn’t helped Star that Glossarick whispered into her ear. “Please, Star, you’re making me look bad.” She was about ready to destroy that apple now, but as she raised her wand to do the task, Heckapoo kissed Marco on the lips. That took all of Star’s attention and she put the wand down. “I’m waiting, Princess.” Ok, that’s it.

“HERE’S YOUR STUPID APPLE!!!” She then threw the thing right at Baby, hitting her square in the face and with so much force the apple broke apart, covering the godmother in apple pudding and juice. Silence fell in the room, it took some seconds for Star to realized what she had done. She covered her face in embarrassment and looked down, her face fully red. They were all shocked at her outburst, Glossarick’s jaw was hitting the floor, Marco and Heckapoo’s eyes were open in surprised, and Baby looked right at Star with an angry scowl.

Cleaning herself and regaining some composure, Baby spoke to the couple sitting on the floor. “Could you leave us alone, please.” She said it with the same tone of voice as before. The two of them got up and walked towards the exit in silence. Marco had some second thoughts about leaving Star alone, but Baby’s gaze turned him around.

Just as the door closed behind Marco. Baby floated towards Star and threw her some eyes full of anger. Star was still looking down as Baby spoke up. “Who is it?” Baby asked in a stern tone. Star looked up in confusion. “Who do you have a crush on, the boy or the girl?” She signaled at the way of the door.

Meekly, Star said. “Marco.”

No more messing around anymore. “Speak up!”

Now at normal volume. “The boy.”

Directing herself towards the blue man. “And you knew about this?”

Rolling his eyes at Baby. “Of course I knew about it. I have been helping the princess with her feelings.”

Not dropping her angry tone. “And such a great work you have done, the girl can’t even work her magic over all those emotions.” Both of them noticed the green glow her magic wand let out earlier, and they knew what it meant.

“Hey!” Star spoke up to try and defend herself. “What’s wrong with me having feelings for Marco?”

Glossarick tried to explain. “Nothing, Princess, there’s nothing wrong with them… it’s just…”

And Baby interrupted him. “If you can’t control your emotions, they’ll end up destroying you.” Surprisingly, Glossarick threw him the disapproval eyes, didn’t helped that Star got scared at her words. “You and everybody you love.” She wasn’t about to hold in the facts, no matter how much Glossarick was against it. But she had to admit that she may have gone a bit to the extreme there. Baby decided to end her visit here. “I have seen enough. I’m going to recommend your parents to bring you home to continue your training.” She turned into smoke and made her way to the window.

But Star got in her way and spoke up. “Wait! Does that mean I failed?!”

Baby didn’t want to say anything more, she already put the fear inside of Star, but it appeared that she wasn’t clear enough. “Princess, not only do you lost the spell book, you keep a closet full of secrets, fell in love with a boy from Earth, and to top it all, you can’t do something so simple as to bring me the apple!” She was ready to leave there, but Glossarick stopped her next.

“But she can! And she can prove it, just give her another chance.” He then shut the window close and stood beside Star.

Rolling her eyes at the two of them. “Fine! Last chance, Princess. Apple. To me. Now!” Baby pointed at the apple on top of the table, but Glossarick spoke up once more.

“Not so fast there. She isn’t going to bring it to you.” Glossarick then screamed loud enough to be heard from the hallway. “MARCO!” And Marco burst inside ready to fight. “There’s no need for violence, but we need your help here.” He glanced at Heckapoo standing on the other side of the door and said. “You can wait in the hallway, don’t worry.” He then closed the door.

Glossarick grabbed Marco by the hoodie and prompted him to stand in front of the apple, next to Baby. He then asked Star to stand on the back of the table with the apple. Now the two of them were in a straight line facing each other.

“Now, Princess, bring the apple to Marco.” Star was confused at the setup, how could changing targets help her right now? Baby took some steps away from Marco to have a better view, and Glossarick began to make his way beside Baby. But before he went away, he whispered to Star. “Remember, last chance, fail, no more Earth for you.” Last words of encouragement he had for Star, and judging by the look of determination in her eyes, it worked.

Ok, she needed to concentrate on the task in front of her, and in that apple. Last chance, she needed to do this right or lose Marco forever… wait. It suddenly clicked for Star, if her parents take her away from Earth, she is going to lose Marco and she had no choice in the matter. That very thought took away all of her determination and replaced it with fear. She could only aim at the apple in front of her and wonder about how many ways she could screw this up, again.

She found herself unable to do the deed, but she suddenly looked up and met eye to eye with Marco. He was looking a bit confused right now, but that didn’t stop him from smiling at Star, just trying everything he could to help her. And it did help Star, it made her realize something important. She lost herself so much on her task that she forgot the real reason she was doing this. Now focusing on Marco, Star was able to gather her magic and shoot a pink blast at the apple, cutting it in half.

Baby was unimpressed at all of this, but Glossarick knew better than that. “Wait for it.” Quickly enough, the apple seed began to sprout, creating a huge tree inside of the room. One of the tree branches reached out to Marco and a new apple appeared on the end of it, leaving it safely on top of Marco’s hands.

“Wow, that was beautiful, Star.” Marco was still impressed at what happened.

Back with the teachers, Baby had a huge smile on her face and Glossarick looked at her with an ‘I told you so’ glance. “Fine, she passes.” On that last note, Baby turned into a cloud of smoke, ate the apple on Marco’s hands, and exited the room.

Star missed no time running towards Marco and hugging him tightly, she then ran to Glossarick and hugged him too. It was there when Heckapoo entered the room. “Is it safe to enter?” And Star made her join the group hug. In between being moved around the room, she was able to speak up. “I guess you passed then.”

“Of course I did! All thanks to the two of them!” She was talking about Marco and Glossarick. It took a while for Star to let them go.

“I’m happy I could help you, Star, I truly am.” Marco smiled at his friend and then talked to Glossarick. “Why all the setup anyway?”

Brushing any doubt they could have. “I took it from one of your movies. You know, about the finger and the moon. I mean, she is fully capable of doing it without our help, but everyone needs some help once in awhile.”

Star was still beaming about passing. “So, Marco, wanna help me clean this up?”

“Actually, we are already running late as it is. But hey, congratulations on passing you evaluation.” Marco apologizes to Star, but he needed to go on with his plans.

“Oh.” Star had totally forgotten about all of that, but she still kept her smile. “Well then, have a nice weekend!”

Heckapoo answered back. “Thanks, Star, I hope you have a great time here too!” And the two of them got out of her room. They still needed to gather some things for the days ahead.

Now alone, Star sat on her bed, but she quickly remembered she wasn’t fully alone there. “Now, now, Princess.” Glossarick now had a new topic to talk with her. Going into full serious mode now. “Star, what she said is true. Controlling your emotions is an important part of your magic.” This only worried Star.

“I just lost my temper for a bit. C’mon I passed the test!”

“Yes, after I rigged it. Love is the easiest emotion to work around.” He then stood beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Look, this is something I can’t help you with. So I urge you to take this matter to your mother.” It seemed obvious to him, Star needed a good mother-daughter talk.

But Star cringed at the whole idea, well, not the whole idea. She didn’t need her mother in order to get dating advice, she had all of her friends for that. “I’ll think about it, by the way…” She did felt this was needed to say. “Thank you, I wouldn’t have done it without you.”

Glossarick smiled and then floated towards the spell book. “Of course you could have. You’re my student after all.” And he disappeared inside the book, leaving Star truly alone.

Star got up and walked downstairs to the kitchen, Marco may have cook all of that food but she didn’t get to eat any of it. She got the news that Heckapoo and Marco had already left to enjoy their couple weekend from Marco’s parents. Now, she had all weekend to herself, and she needed to address the trouble at hand.

It was a nice Friday afternoon, maybe her friends are up for some fun. Star tried calling an emergency meeting and all of the girls responded quickly. All five of them decided to gather at Janna’s house, she was the only one with a free place.

“So, what did you want about Star?” Jackie was surprised to hear her call for help, but more than happy to come.

Without even thinking, Janna spoke up. “My bet is, she wants to talk about how she kissed Marco last Friday.” And all of the girls gasped at those words.

“Is it true Star!” Starfan quickly got in her face, waiting for an answer.

“Damn girl, can’t imagine how Heckapoo reacted.” And Pony Head yelled while floating near the bedside.

Well, now she doesn’t need to recap how it happened. But some clarity would be welcome. “Look, we kissed and all, but that’s all that happened. You see…” Star explained how Marco got lost and that the two of them haven’t had the chance to really talk about what happened to the two to them. “What do you all think?”

“Yeah, you screw up big time there.” Janna and Pony Head spoke in unison.

Star then looked at the two remaining girls for some support. Jackie could only look away and say. “You could have… tackle that better.” And she smiled at Star awkwardly. “At least Marco is alright.”

It was only Starfan that was taken aback by all the pessimist. “Hey! Do none of you see how good all of this is?” She got some confused stares there. “It means she isn’t out of the game! He kissed you back ain’t it?”

“Yeah, but, that doesn’t mean…” And Star was stopped by her fan. Without even hearing what she had to say.

“It does! He must have feelings for you. Right?” She talked to the rest of the girls.

Not really knowing how to answer, all the girls stayed quiet, except for Jackie. “That, really, doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is what Star wants to do.” Yeah, all of them had to agree on that.

They all got quiet as they waited for Star to speak up. Thinking about her options. “I really need to talk with him about what happened, but I really can’t bring myself to do it.”

All of her friends knew the why of this. Nobody wants to be rejected, and avoiding the topic is a nice way to avoid that. Star will have the idea that getting together with Marco is still a possibility and won’t have to get a broken heart. And most of them knew this was a bad idea, not counting how unhealthy it is to keep those feelings locked away.

But maybe Star needed some tough love to help her out. “So, why haven’t you?” Pony head asked.

Star was surprised at her friend’s tone. “I... just… can’t.” The two of them locked eyes, Pony head was almost pushing her to open up. “What if that ruins our friendship?”

“Sounds like your friendship is ruined if you keep going like this.” Pony Head’s approach may have confused the rest of the girls, but she quickly got a hold of what she was doing.

Janna followed up right there. “I mean, wouldn’t you like to fight for him? Or are you happy letting him go?”

Star began to get confused by their words. All of that was true, she couldn’t just let him go like that, but could she really do it?. Now, if Janna and Pony Head were the bad cops right here, Jackie and Starfan decided to play the good cops.

Jackie was the one to scramble her ideas quick enough. “C’mon, you two have been friends since the day you arrived. You can’t go saying you don’t have a chance.” That was true, the two of them are inseparable, no way he and Heckapoo have that connection.

“Besides, what does that girl has that you don’t?” Starfan wasn’t going to let her idol think less of herself.

Star began to smile, she had finally caught up with what they were doing. “Aw, I really appreciate that girls.” All of them laugh at the silliness of their little chat. In all honesty, it did help Star to gather her thoughts, and raise her confidence.

As Jackie stopped laughing, she put on her serious face. “Star, real talk now. You deserve an answer.” Star looked at her with a worried face. “If he did kiss you back, the guy can’t go playing with your feelings like this.” A point none of them had considered. “I mean, I don’t know him as much as you do, but I think he shouldn’t be avoiding the topic either.”

Why Marco has been avoiding the topic was an easy guess, him having a girlfriend and all, but the two of them are best friends they shouldn’t be doing this in the first place. The girls didn’t have an answer for this issue, they could only point Star in the right direction, and they did manage to do that. Star felt determined to sit down and talk face to face with Marco as soon as they see each other again.

“Thanks for helping me girls, really.” Star was amazed at how well the talk with them went. Maybe all of her problems weren’t solved, but she sure had more courage to face them. “So, what do you girls want to do now?”

Aside from them gathering to talk about Star’s issues, few of them had any other ideas on what to do next. “Eh, we can hit the Bounce Lounge.” Pony Head was quick to throw her idea.

“No parties to go out tonight really, well, no fun ones.” Janna tried checking her phone to see if something interesting was on around town.

Starfan was fine with anything, as long as Star was going too, and Jackie had trouble coming up with ideas. So it ended with Star’s decision. “Bounce Longue it….” But she was cut short by Jackie.

“Wait! There is a party we can go!” She jumped up and pulled her cell phone out, trying to find the right picture. “It’s in the woods nearby, it’s supposed to be near an old shack.” She showed the girls her phone with a little map of the woods.

“Well, we can’t go empty handed.” Janna was already smiling, thinking about stealing some beer for the party.

Pony Head had some second thoughts about it, Earth parties seemed a bit lame to her, but if Star wanted. “Sure, we can go, nice chance to go where no one knows me, could be exciting.”

It was decided then. The girls made their way to the woods. They didn’t stop by the convenience store, like Janna suggested, deciding to get whatever was at the party. The walk wasn’t that long and they soon found themselves by that old shack in the woods.

The party was going hard, right now, with boys and girls around their age littering the place. It didn’t take long for the girls to find something to do there. Pony head was focusing on being the center of attention, easily enough being a magical princess, Janna and Jackie went to get some drinks, and the two Stars talked amongst themselves.

Once they had gotten comfortable, Starfan felt the urge to use the toilet. One of the guys there told her the only functional restroom was inside the shack, so the two of them walked inside. They found more people partying inside and while Star waited for her friend to finish her business, her attention got taken by a pair of giggling girls that approached her. She was sure they were from the same school, but couldn’t remember their names. Nonetheless, she acted as happy as ever. “What’s up!”

“Hello! You’re that new exchange student, right?” The shortest one of the girls spoke first.

“Yeah, Star Butterfly is the name.” She presented herself to the two of them.

The two of them giggled a bit, again. “So, you’re staying with Marco Diaz then?” Ok, a bit of a weird direction this conversation took.

“Yeah, do you know the guy?”

The same girl as before. “Well, we have heard of him. He is such a hottie, don’t you think?” That took Star by surprise. She blushed a bit but was able to hide it from the girls. “As of late, I mean. That new aura sure makes him attractive.”

Well, the night started with Star talking about Marco. “He sure has a new look these days, with the jacket and all, but new aura?” She has been with the guy for a long time maybe she got so used to him that she never noticed the change.

“C’mon we all know him as the safe guy, but you must admit the bad guy look and attitude suits him.” It was obvious for Star that the girls still had a hidden question dying to ask, that stupid little laugh they did was proof enough.

But she also got bored of this whole thing. “Yeah, maybe you’re right, but don’t matter how you think. Marco has a girlfriend.” She got some satisfaction seeing the short girl deflate a bit.

Before Star could walk away, the other girl, a tall redhead, spoke up. “Girl with horns and white skin, right?” Star nodded. “Meh, the guy looks like the type that goes through girls fast.” The redhead then spun around to cut Star escape route, leaving her between the two girls. “Which brings me to our next question.”

It was the short girl that pop the question. “Tell us the truth, have the two of you been…” She got close as to whisper into her ear. “Fooling around?” And the two of them shot their biggest smiles to Star.

This made Star jump back and blush hard like she got caught red handed. “You have, haven’t you? Just admit it, we are dying to know!” The redheaded girl tried pushing the answer by force.

“Of course not!” The girls already had the wrong idea about Marco, she didn’t want to push it further by saying the truth. “And you shouldn’t be saying those things about the guy, you don’t even know him.”

“Why do you think we are talking to you?” The short one talked, taking Star by surprise once more. “We are not so ditzy as to ask a guy out without knowing what to expect.”

Star didn’t get angry at that, she didn’t even felt jealous. But she sure as hell was surprised at this. Yes, she loves the guy and thinks the world of him, but she never thought about how other girls may see him. Before she could get too into the interrogation, she caught Starfan exiting the restroom and excused herself from the girls.

“Hey Star, what got you so…” And Starfan was taken by the hand outside. They made their way into the forest till Star found a nice place just far enough from the party so the two of them could talk in peace. “Um, look, I am into talking alone, but not inside a creepy forest.” She then noticed Star walking back and forth trying to think of something. “What’s wrong?”

Finally getting her thoughts together. “Starfan, I’m going to ask you something that may sound weird, but you gotta promise me to answer with the truth.” The girl was so confused right now, she thought Star had made some new friends back in the party, so seeing her all riled up about something out of nowhere was unsettling.

Still, Starfan nodded in agreement. “What do you think of Marco?” The girl sported a huge look of confusion after hearing that question. “I mean, if you didn’t know how I feel about him, what would you think of him? Would… Would you ask him out on a date? Or… Or… Would you think he is the kind of guy that fools around with several girls? Or…” She began to ramble there, not even forming sentences.

Starfan was still confused at this. “Star…” The girl didn’t answer her, she was too lost into her rambling. “STAR!” But that scream got her attention. “I… don’t really think about boys that much, sorry.” Star suddenly got embarrassed about her little display or craziness. “What brought this on you anyway?”

Star sat down by the closest tree. “Some girls were talking about Marco in the party.” Starfan sat beside her. “I never really thought that I’m may not the only girl that’s after him.” She told her friend about the little talk she had with the girls. “Am I really just like those girls?”

Starfan didn’t need much time to answer. “Of course not. You do care about the guy.” That didn’t seem to work with Star. “And, C'mon, I thought you were ready to fight for him.”

That sentence made something click inside of Star’s mind. She hugged her knees close and spoke up. “But he already has someone. What if the only thing I’m doing by forcing the topic is breaking them apart.” Starfan got quiet all of the sudden. “It’s obvious that they care for each other. I don’t want to be a homewrecker.”

The girl beside her tried coming up with something useful to say. “Guys aren’t even married you know?” She took Star’s light smile as a good sign. “Look, I can’t say that I have all the answers, don’t think any of us do. But if you feel this is the best path to take we’ll all support you, be sure of that.”

The girls hugged for a few seconds before standing up. They glanced in the direction of the party, with all of the guest having a good time. “I know we just arrived, but I don’t really feel like partying. Think the girls will be ok if I call it a night?”

Starfan was trying to find their friends amongst the crowd. “If we tell them first. Let’s go find them.”

The two of them quickly gathered all of their friends in a quiet enough area. Star didn’t explain what happened to her nor did she talked about the talk she had with Starfan. “Sure B-fly, if you don’t feel like it, we can go.”

Quickly answering back. “No, you can stay here and have fun if you want. No need to cut the night short because of me.”

“Nah, the party is boring anyway. Besides, we can’t leave you alone if you’re feeling bad.” Janna reassured her that everything was right. “Let’s go, I’m kinda hungry myself.”

The girls made their way away from the party towards the town. They stopped for some late night food on their way back. Maybe their original plan was cut short but that didn’t stop them from having a good time together. At the end of their little dinner, Pony Head went back home and the rest of them walked back home.

The way home wasn’t a long one, but it sure did feel that way with the four of them talking so lively during all of it. They first left Starfan by her doorstep, then Jackie, and soon enough, it was Star’s turn. She said her goodbyes at Janna next to the door.

“Thanks for the help. It really helped clear up my mind.” Star hugged Janna right there.

“Don’t worry Star.” She began to walk away and waved Star goodbye. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.” And she made her way back to her own home.

Star waved back and went inside. The lights were on in the living room but nobody was home. It seemed like it was another night of doing nothing in her room. She went from the entrance hallway towards her room. As soon as she took the last step from the stairs, she noticed something laying on the floor near Marco’s room door. Approaching that black lump, Star noticed it was Marco’s jacket. Which was weird, she was sure he took it with him earlier that day. It could have been another jacket, but the pair of wings sewed in the back prove that this one was the real thing.

Could Marco be back already? It was the only reason she could think of. Star then stood in front of Marco’s door and pressed her ear to it. Maybe she could hear some shuffling going on inside, perhaps someone mumbling something, but nothing clear. Even if Marco is inside his room, and if he is alone or not, Star decided to leave the jacket hanging from the door knob and go to her room.

She turned her door knob and open it up, just to reveal the living room again. “Don’t let the crib spiders bite.” It was Janna waving her goodbye like earlier. This turned weird all of the sudden. She walked upstairs like before and found the same jacket left discarded on the floor. She did the same as before and placed the jacket on the doorknob and walked to her room.

Only to, once again, find herself entering the living room from the front door. “Don’t let the futon crawlers get you.” And that was Janna saying goodbye once again. Starting to panic now, Star ran upstairs, ignored the jacket on the ground, and tried once again to get inside her room, maybe Glossarick would know what to do. But to no avail, just the same living room once again.

Again and again, Star found herself unable to get inside her own room, always finding herself back by the front door. But not only that, she tried going around the house and climb through her window, drill a hole to her room, drop from the air into it, but every try ended the same way. Every time she found herself in the living room once again, with Janna saying goodbye. “Don’t let the sack vermin ruin your…”

“YES I KNOW ALREADY!” And she closed the door and tried it once more. She was so angry at everything right now that she took Marco’s jacket and threw it at his door, it was there that she noticed the dimensional scissors falling out of one of the pockets. This gave Star an idea. Picking up the scissors, Star opened up a portal to Father Time’s dimension.

Only to find out that wouldn’t work like she planned, Father Time didn’t seem to mind her situation. She was out of ideas now. It all seemed hopeless, till a mysterious voice called out to her.

Star found herself face to face with Omnitraxus Prime, one of the members of the Magic High Commission, and the one in charge of Space-Time. Explaining her issue to him, the guy then asked Star. “What’s it keep returning to?”

“The same jacket that Marco threw on the floor.”

“Well, why don’t you just return the jacket to him?” And he tried making his exit, but Star stopped him.

“But I can’t do that! I’m… kind of avoiding him for some time… for… a reason.”

“Ok, so talk about your problems with him.” And again, he tried leaving her alone with no more answers.

“I can’t! It’s a very delicate topic. It could ruin our friendship.” Omnitraxus Prime sighed in annoyance but he knew how to push Star to solve this issue.

He showed Star the Crystal Fields of Interwoven Continuum. Inside, Star was able to see all of her parallel selves. “All those versions of you got the courage to face this friend of yours and return his jacket. You are the only version of you that didn’t do it.”

Star began feeling down right there. She sat down on the edge of the crystal she was and said nothing. “What’s wrong?” Omnitraxus Prime span the crystal to meet her face to face.

Trying to hold her frustration in. “Just… How do you expect me to face him? This isn’t a normal fight between friends, this is serious.”

Wanting to get this over with, he did have a lot of work to do. “Yes, but don’t you think that, maybe, he is feeling just like you right now?” Star jumped a bit at his words. “If you two are so close friends, it’s more than likely that you’re not the only one scared of bringing up the topic.” Star never saw it from this perspective. If she was feeling bad about all of this, Marco was sure to feel just as horrible, maybe, even more, considering his attitude.

Still, this wasn’t enough to drive the fear away. “Don’t think I can do that. Don’t want him to hate me in the end.”

“Nobody wants to lose someone close. But you have to return the jacket to him or your whole existence in all timelines will be erased.” With that last note, Omnitraxus Prime left Star in the beginning of her time loop.

Making her way upstairs, Star picked up Marco’s jacket and made her way, slowly, to his room. Maybe all of the reality was falling apart around her, and her appearance kept changing to different versions of herself. But nonetheless, her mind was full of fear. The fact that she was still moving forward with this meant she knew this needed to be done. To act in the presence of fear is the true courage. That’s what she kept telling herself.

As soon as she placed her hand on the doorknob and turned open. All of the shaking and timeline destruction stopped. Star then took a deep breath and look inside of the room. “Marco, you in here?” Looking inside, she noticed that Marco was laying on the bed with his face buried in a pillow and wearing the gray shirt he usually wears under the jacket. At least he was alone. “Are you alright?” Marco just groaned at her. “Thought you’d be with Heckapoo in your couple weekend.” Another groan from him. It was obvious that he was feeling down and was not in the mood to talk. But Star just saved her existence in order to talk with him. She wasn’t going to leave him like this. “Look, I brought your jacket, it was in the hallway.”

Marco turned his head slightly to see her and answer. “You can throw that away.” And then buried his face in the pillow once again.

Knowing how important the thing was for him. Star hung the jacket inside his closet and then faced him again. “What happened?”

Realizing Star won't drop the topic. Marco turned around to face the ceiling but still laid on the bed. He took a deep breath and then exhaled loudly. “Heckapoo broke up with me.”

Silence fell on the room. “Aw, crap.” Star couldn’t contain her words. Doesn’t seem like this is the best time have that talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really couldn't think of a good name for this chapter. Sorry if some grammar errors escaped me this time.


	10. Drunk Nights.

It was during a quick stop by the Magic High Commission. Heckapoo was call out of nowhere to discuss something important. As soon as they walked out of the portal, the two of them were met by a creature with snake hands and a huge crystal for a head. He presented himself as Rhombulus.

Rhombulus escorted them to the usual office Heckapoo uses while working in the building. “Dude, you haven’t even told me what’s this about.” The girl was angry that their day was interrupted. They were about to get in the hot springs dammit.

The crystal guy spoke up. “Sorry about that. Something urgent came in and we need you to check some portal readings. You should finish quick enough though.” He opened up the office’s door. It looked like the office of a big company CEO but with several desks and chairs to fit several office workers. Most of those desks were covered in papers and magic items. “Here, just close the door after you finish.” He was about to leave but Heckapoo stopped him.

“Hey! Where’s the paperwork? There’s a mountain of work in here.” She pointed at the several stacks and boxes full of papers. She knew most of that was weeks old, but she still needed Rhombulus to be more specific.

Reaching out to one of the stacks of papers near the door, the one standing taller than him, Rhombulus took the upper half of it and handed it to the girl. “Here it is. Just get it done and I’ll come back for it later.” And he left the two of them to it.

Marco saw the huge mountain of papers his girlfriend had in her hands and said. “Hey, don’t worry about this. I’ll help out.” He took part of the papers and Heckapoo summoned some clones to take care of the workload. The clones cleaned up the desks and got down to business. The couple sat at the desk at the back and center of the room and began reviewing the work.

After some minutes of working it was Marco that spoke up. “Hey, I know I told you I’ll help out, but I can’t make sense of any of this.” If it wasn’t some weird drawings he didn’t understand, it was letters written in a weird language.

Heckapoo took the papers from him and began reading them over. “Yeah, all these readings are just gibberish for the uneducated.” She smiled at Marco before continuing her work.

Marco looked around at the clones getting so into the workload and then at his girlfriend writing her reports. “So, is this all you do? I kinda thought it will be more exciting than office work.”

Without looking up at him, just focusing on her work. “This isn’t even most of it. Only the work that piles up the fastest if I don’t take care of it.” One the clones then came to her and placed more papers on the desk. “Another part of the work is mapping out new dimensions. Scissors related tasks. Taking care that the portals are stable enough. And then there are the duties of just being in the Magic High Commission.” He looked down after saying that.

“Hey, don’t worry, we’re almost finished with it. The hot springs are way better under a night sky anyways.” Marco grabbed her free hand and tried to cheer her up.

The two of them worked hard to finish fast. Even if Marco couldn’t read the things he could at least run around handing out papers to move this quick. It didn’t take long for everything to be ready and finished.

Heckapoo placed the stack of documents near the door and stuck a little note for Rhombulus to know which stack was the right one. Marco let out a big sigh after all that hard work. “And that’s it, we can go back to our weekend now.” He threw a warm smile towards Heckapoo.

After sending the clones away, Heckapoo began walking between the aisles of desks. Looking over all the work orders pending. “Yeah, it will be good to be away from work for a while.” Something there caught her eye. One of the documents had fallen on the floor. She went to pick it up and place it where it needed to be. Before she could do that, she took a quick glance at the paper, it was dated for yesterday. She quickly found the stack it belonged to, one that reached taller than herself and surrounded by other two just as big. All of that paperwork just for yesterday and they didn’t even finish half the paperwork for today.

She let out a big sigh knowing all of the work that was waiting for her after returning from her little vacation. “Is everything alright?” Marco caught her attention from the other side of the room. Heckapoo looked at Marco, still smiling at her, and then at the desks full of paperwork. She did that a couple of times before sitting down on her knees. Marco saw this and sat beside her.

As soon as he sat down Heckapoo asked. “Marco, are you happy?” She turned to meet him face to face. “When we started going out for the thrills. I have to admit I did it just to ditch work. Then it got to the point where we needed to cut our escapades for a while because I had to get back to work.” Marco remembered this, it was just before the two of them got together.

“And then we got out and you asked me to be your girlfriend and I was so happy.” She did look happy, but some tears were forming in her eyes. “I was happy to have someone that cares so much about me, and you’re such a great boyfriend to top it all.” Her smile drop, and so did the tears. “But think about it. We barely even see each other. Every time I want to make time for us it means more work piling up, which means less time for us. It never stops.”

Marco reached out to hug her. “But it doesn’t bother me. I can wait for you to have some free time.” Even if their free time has already been interrupted twice.

“That’s the thing, Marco, you shouldn’t have to wait for me!” She threw his arms away from her and grabbed his face gently. “You don’t deserve a part-time girlfriend.”

It suddenly clicked for Marco. Her tears, the fact that it happened right now, he got the point of all of this, but he still didn’t want to believe it. “What are you trying to say Heckapoo?” He was mentally praying for it to be something else entirely.

Heckapoo looked away from him for a second, cleaned her tears, and then went back to see him eye to eye. “I think we should…” No, this wasn’t a something they should do, it had to happen, no matter how hard it is for them. Her face went from sad to determined now. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m breaking up with you.”

It took some seconds for her words to reach Marco’s brain, but when it did, he stood up and scream. “WHAT?!!” Heckapoo stood up after him but said nothing. “You can’t let your work dictate your personal life!” He watched as Heckapoo walked towards the door in silence and ran behind her. “Look, I already told you I’m fine with waiting, I understand that you get busy from time to time.” He saw her opening the door and reached out to grab her hand before she could exit. “Please, don’t do this.”

Looking up, Heckapoo noticed the tears coming out of Marco’s eyes. She thought she could do this without dragging it too much, but she couldn’t leave him like this. “Marco, this isn’t a normal job. I can’t quit. I’ve been doing this a long time, and will be for a ton more.” She hugged him in order to calm him down and then separated after some seconds. “I’m sorry, for everything, I truly am. But I won’t change my mind.”

Marco tried to say something, anything, but he couldn’t. What's worse was that he could see her point and understood it. He couldn’t be angry for coming to this conclusion. Sometimes, people can’t be together. Doesn’t mean the breakup wasn’t going to hurt like crazy, but he understood where it was coming from.

After some minutes of just standing by the door. “Please.” Nothing else came to mind for Marco.

Heckapoo heard his plea and felt Marco holding her hand tight. New tears appeared in their eyes soon enough. “I’m sorry.” And she let his hand go.

Marco excused himself and got out of there before something else could happen, leaving Heckapoo by herself. Soon, Rhombulus walked to her.

“Hey, are those documents ready?” He didn’t hear what happened between her and Marco.

Heckapoo rushed inside, picked up the stack of papers, and handed them to him. “HERE!!!” She screamed at top lung, taking him completely by surprise. She then opened up a portal and said goodbye with a. “You better not call me again for the rest of the weekend!” And she exited the dimension.

Marco went directly home. He went to the kitchen and grabbed something to drink in order to calm down. He went upstairs and suddenly remembered he forgot his backpack full of clothes. He reached out for his scissors but suddenly remembered that he was wearing his jacket. It soon hit him hard, he had the jacket scissors and pretty much all of his equipment to bring him unwanted memories. He ran upstairs and discarded the jacket and scissors before going inside his room. Sometime later, Marco wasn’t really counting, Star arrived home, and he had to tell her about what happened.

“I’m so sorry Marco.” Star was already sitting on the bed with Marco laying face up.

“Are you now!?” Star was taken back at his little outburst and he noticed it. “Sorry about that…” He had nothing else to say.

Thinking for a moment about what to do. “Anything I can do?” Star really didn’t have any other ideas about what to say.

“I just want to be alone for the night.” Marco tried to be nice about it. He did feel like being alone for a while now.

Star didn’t say anything, she just exited the room. This left Marco with some peace of mind, but only for a couple of seconds. Soon enough, Star barged inside carrying some bed sheets, pillows, and the spell book. “Star, what are you doing?”

She didn’t say anything, she just left the things on the floor and ran out. Glossarick came out after that. The blue man approached Marco and began patting his back. “Don’t worry Marco. Just let it all out you’re around friends.” Marco just looked at him with confusion in his eyes.

Soon enough, Star came inside carrying boxes of cereal, three bowls, spoons, and a jug of milk. She began preparing the bowls of cereal right there. “Here you go, Marco.” And then passed another bowl to Glossarick.

Marco looked at the cereal in his hands then at Star. “Ok, look I know you’re just trying to help, but…” Star didn’t let him finish, she just grabbed a spoonful of cereal and then fed it to Marco.

While Marco was busy chewing, Star spoke up. “Look, I know what you said, but you can’t expect me to roll over and leave you alone while you suffer.” She then sat back down and began eating her own cereal. “C’mon, it’s been awhile since we had a chill night.”

So the night ahead was going to be just this. Thinking about it for a minute, it was fine by Marco. It was either this or mopping till he fell asleep. They stayed like this for a while, and Marco was happy that they didn’t talk about what happened to him. They mostly played around with the magic from the spell book and talked about anything that came to mind. Soon enough, the three of them had fallen asleep. Glossarick inside the book, Star on the floor, and Marco on the bed.

Star needed to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. But she also used her time to pick up some of the mess they made in Marco’s room. She left the dirty dishes in the sink and the almost empty jug of milk in the fridge. After that, she made her way upstairs to use the toilet, but as soon as she was about to open the door, Marco came out and met her face to face.

They both jump back in surprise. “Aw, sorry… You were going to…” Marco tried moving to the side to give Star space to enter.

“Yeah, just… I’ll just…” Star tried doing the same as Marco, which only made then collide with each other a couple of times. After their little dance in the doorway, they finally ended up with Marco and Star on the opposite sides they started.

Still, the two of them just looked at the other for a while. “Hey, eh, thanks about… everything, really.”

“No problem… Hey, Marco…” She still wanted to have that talk, but she also knew that doing it the same night Marco broke up with his girlfriend was just… Wrong. “Marco… I hope you’re alright.” They stayed like that for a while again.

Star did her business and washed her hands before exiting the restroom, only to find Marco waiting for her in the hallway. Thinking for a moment. “You need anything from the restroom?”

“Nah, just wanted to walk back with you.” And he smiled at her. Star just smiled back and the two of them went back to sleep. The rest of that night was uneventful. But it did have an unexpected upside. Not only did it cheer Marco up, it helped Star be sure about their friendship. So even if they had to delay their talk for a while, she was less scared to tackle it, at the right time.

During the rest of the weekend, the two of them take it easy. They even had a visit from Heckapoo. She stopped to return Marco’s gear and backpack, and she did make the point to assure him he was free to drop them if they need repairs. That was pretty much it for her visit. Didn’t help Marco lift his spirits, it only reassured him that everything was really over.

Soon, holidays came and passed. Marco got busy during this time. Not helped by the fact that Star was new to Earth’s holidays. He barely had the time to feel down after his break up.

Right now it was almost Christmas and the two of them were helping with the decorations. “So, you decorate the tree and then placed presents under it, but you don’t open the presents till a baby is born?”

Not wanting to go over the confusing details, she already got the basics anyway. “Yeah, basically.”

“That sounds awesome!” He placed the star on top of the tree, with magic, and asked another doubt she had. “What do you want for Christmas then?” If the presents was an important part of this holiday, she couldn’t half-ass it.

Marco thought for a second about her question. Is not like he needed something, or wanted something right now. “Anything you want to give me I’ll love it. So don’t worry about it.”

Star had forgotten how hard it is for Marco to decide on a present. “Yeah, I’ll think of something.” Not like she didn’t have enough time to get him something. Christmas wasn’t until next week. That very afternoon, Star got an idea. She already knew where to find something for the person she loves.

The days passed and Christmas arrived. The Diaz’s family, plus Star, had visited the rest of the family and enjoyed the usual holiday dinner and traditions. But Star waited for all of them to be back home to hand her own presents. Mr. and Mrs. Diaz received matching onesies pajamas from her. In between the laughs, Star handed another box to Marco.

Marco was excited to open it up and see what she got him, but also kind of scared to see what was inside. Star may have bought the present on a whim, but she had thought hard about what Marco would like. Still, she made sure to avoid any romantic subtext, Marco may still be hurting about the recent breakup.

Opening his present, slowly, Marco found a shoebox with golden letters saying. “Felicity? The place of the Goddess of Love?” Star only looked proud of her present. “Uhm… you really shouldn’t have, Star. It’s not like my present was that much.”

Rolling her eyes and smiling at him. “Just open it up and see if you can say that again.” That confused Marco a bit, but he complied.

Taking the top of the box off revealed a pair of black ballerina shoes. This would have felt like a prank gift, but Marco was happy about his gift, so much in fact that he began laughing out loud. “Thanks, Star! It’s the perfect gift alright.” He tried them right there.

“Yeah, I thought yours looked a bit old. These ones are sure to be slip-proof and the black color is to suit your style.” Marco put them on and began walking around, they were surprisingly comfier than his normal ones. The two of them ended up smiling at the whole thing. All in all, a happy Christmas day.

Another week passed. It was after New Year had ended, and Star tried to stay close to Marco to see if everything was fine. He seemed ok for the most of it, but she knew that he doesn’t go around showing his sadness. But they hang out and talked as normal as always, so she could probably stop worrying so much about him. A day after New Year, Star was helping Mrs. Diaz putting down the Christmas decorations in the afternoon.

They went to the tree and Star noticed something interesting. “Mrs. Diaz, where did you find this doll?” She was talking about the pink string doll she made and enchanted a month ago to help her with her confession. She had totally forgotten about it.

Mrs. Diaz answered. “Oh, that, I found it while cleaning up. I thought it was a decoration for the tree, is it yours?”

It was weird that she hadn’t noticed it before. “Yeah, but, to be honest, you found a better use for it than I ever could.”

“Well, if it yours, sorry I took it without permission. I say, put it away where you see fit.” Star placed the doll in her pocket, deciding to throw it in her drawer later.

Once the two of them had finished with the cleanup, Star went to ask Marco what they should do for the rest of the day. Entering into his room, without knocking, Star found Marco sitting on the floor. He was wearing all of his bounty hunter gear and seemed to be waiting for something. Marco sure was surprised to see Star entering his room and find him like this. “Um… Hi.”

Star got worried about all of this. “Aw Marco, I thought you were fine already.” Maybe he got nostalgic about his adventures with Heckapoo.

“What?” He suddenly got what she was talking about. “No, Star, I’m fine.”

“You’re not fooling me. I’m not letting you do something risky.” She took a step forward and tried to take the sword away, but Marco kept her at arm’s reach.

“Look, I’m fine, totally over the breakup.” This didn’t help Star calm down. “Believe me, I’m not looking for trouble.” He managed to sit Star down in front of him. “Some guys from the guild asked me to help them with a job.” Star looked at him with worried eyes. “I’m just waiting for them to call. I promise, won’t take more than a couple of hours.”

Now looking at him with uninterested eyes. Star still had her doubts about all of this. “What’s the job.”

Marco looked awkward and scratched the back of his head. “I… don’t know, yet. They’ll fill me in on the details later.” And Star didn’t drop the disapproving eyes.

She then sighed and said. “Look, I can’t stop you if you want to go. But could you at least promise me you’ll be safe?” She looked down and began to stand up.

Marco began to feel bad about worrying his friend so much. “Don’t worry about it. I’m a pro, remember?” But Star just made her way out, not even bothering to wave him goodbye. He should have probably run after her, but he received a text from one of the guys and had to make his exit there.

Star couldn’t be angry about it, she knew that Marco would need to cope with his feeling in his own way. That didn’t stop her from worrying about the boy. She had already seen him go overboard with the whole thing. Looking at the conversation in hindsight, she should have gone with him, but it hadn’t crossed her mind at the moment.

But it may be for the best. The two of them had been hanging out together ever since he broke up with Heckapoo. Maybe Marco needed some time alone for himself. Besides, maybe she was overreacting. Marco is familiar with all of that and he did say it won’t take too much time.

He had said that, but reality sure went a different way. Star spent all afternoon goofing around her room, practicing with Glossarick, she even called her parents to say hello, she did it during Christmas, even if nothing was being celebrated in Mewni at the moment. Nothing out of the ordinary, but after nightfall came without an update from Marco, she began to panic. It was now midnight and there was no sign of Marco, not even a single text from him. Although, she could just be acting paranoid for no reason. She needed to have some faith in the guy, they are best friends, aren’t they?

That was the moment her magic pocket mirror rang, it was Marco’s number. She answered as soon as she saw the caller’s id. “Marco! I swear I’m gonna kill you for making me worry like this.”

It took some seconds of silence for her to get an answer. “Yeah hello, is this Star?” That didn’t sound like Marco, at all. It sounded like a grouchier version of Star’s dad, without the accent.

Confused now. “Yes, she’s talking.” Just what was going on?

“And you already told me you know the guy…” Those extra seconds of silence didn’t ease her mind. “Could you come pick him up?”

Ok, this wasn’t the direction she was expecting this to take. “From where, what did he do?”

“Oh no, he isn’t in trouble, he just partied too much in the guild. But we are about to close the bar. So if you could take him home soon, that will be great.” Star didn’t bother asking for the details, she just agreed and portal herself inside the guild, good thing she had already visit the place before.

Once there, she was greeted by the bartender, a tall pigman. “Hello there. Your friend is over here.” He walked her to some booths by the corner of the bar. Everything was a mess, spilled drinks, broken chairs, and tables, even several guys knocked unconscious littered the place. “Yeah, we had a party to celebrate the alignment of the moons, that’s why we have this whole mess.” They passed the bouncers throwing people out of the bar. “Sorry about calling you so late, it was the boy that told us to do it.” He finally delivered Star to the booth Marco was using to sleep right now.

Inspecting the surrounding area revealed a ton of broken furniture and burn marks around the walls. “Don’t worry, boy’s fine. Which is surprising seeing how he was in the middle of the brawl.” Star approached Marco and began to shake him. Marco reacted by sitting straight and yawing loud, only for the yawn to turn into a burp that spewed fire from his mouth. Star then jumped back in surprise. “Ah, some of the guys may have slipped some Dragon’s Breath into his drink as a prank. It lasts longer if you keep drinking, but we already cut him a while ago so he should be going back to normal soon enough. Just, don’t keep him in close quarters.” There went the idea to take him directly to his bed.

“Anything I can do about it?” Star asked, trying to awaken Marco enough for them to get out of there.

Thinking for a moment, the pigman came up with something. “Actually, he should have…” He approached Marco and rumbled around his jacket’s pockets before pulling out a little flask with clear liquid. “Here, Honey Milk, give it to him after he finishes spitting fire, it should save him from the ulcer he is sure to have after this. Works on the hangover too.” He placed the little flask on Star’s hand and then began walking away. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. I have more guests to attend.” And he walked away.

It took only a few more shakes for Marco to fully awaken, well almost. He burped a few more times, spitting more fire while at it before he noticed Star standing by his side. “Staaaaaaaaaaaaar.” And he hugged her by the waist, taking her by surprise.

Still, this made Star chuckle a bit. “Now, Marco, let’s go.”

She helped him stand up. “Are we…” More fire spit. “Going dimension hopping?”

Star then opened up a portal and dragged him to the other side. “Sorry, but no more fun for you tonight. You already party enough by yourself.” She then felt Marco throw his weight over her and hug her tighter than before.

Marco began making himself comfortable while hugging Star like he was about to go to sleep again. “This pillow smells so sweet, just like Star.” And he smelled like burned charcoal and alcohol to her. Managing to drag him out of there, they found themselves in an open field. Star thought it better than to bring him home and risk him burning the place down. “Thought we weren’t going dimension… dimension… surfing.” Star placed him on the ground and he stared at the night sky.

Star sat beside Marco and began taking care of him. “So… how was the party?”

Trying not to slur his words too much, and in between the fire breath. “It was cool and all. Man, those guys sure know how to party, they did this thing where…” He then noticed Star looking slightly angry at him, he quickly understood the why of it. “Aw, sorry Star. It wasn’t supposed to end like this… I… I…” He began having issues retelling his part of the events, so Star intervened.

“Forget it, you can tell me about it later. You could’ve at least texted me, I was worried about you.” Marco then dragged himself over to her and rested his head on her lap. “And doing cute things won’t make me forget.” She said in a stern tone but didn’t push him away.

“Man, my head's spinning like crazy right now.” Star quickly got scared by those words. She took Marco’s head and held it away from her towards the sky. Sure enough, Marco let out the biggest burp he had, and with it, the biggest fireball he had thrown that night. This went on for a couple of seconds and afterward, Marco fell on Star’s lap once again.

“Ok Marco, if you’re going to stay there, you better warn me if you’re gonna do that again.” She was relieved to have avoided it this time, but she still wanted to be safe if.

“Promise.” Marco closed his eyes and tried to make himself comfortable, only to have troubles with it.

Star noticed this and asked. “What is it now?”

“You have something in your pocket, it’s bothering me.” Without asking, he put his hand inside her dress right pocket and pulled out a little string doll. “Here it is. Little guy thought I won’t find him.” Star didn’t give it too much thought, but Marco helped it up to take a good look at it. “Hey! This the little guy you threw away, remember?”

Star blushed hard at his words and said nothing, maybe he would just forget about it by himself. “Remember Star? You threw it away cause you were angry, remember?” He dangled the doll in front of Star face and she could only look away. “It was the night Ludo tried taking the spellbook away.” He began chuckling a bit there, not noticing how red Star’s face was getting. “You know, it happened after we…”

And Star couldn’t take in any more. “YES, I KNOW!!!” She pushed Marco’s hand to his torso and looked at him right in the eyes.

Not dropping his smile. “…Kissed.” And Star covered her face in embarrassment. Marco held the doll in his hands before saying. “You’re so cute, you know that?” He closed his eyes as to stop the world from spinning around.

Calming down a bit. “Thanks… I’m sorry about that though.” Marco gave her a questioning look. “The kiss I mean. I shouldn’t have done that, you were with Heckapoo and all.”

“Well… uhm… I shouldn’t have kissed you back either. So… I was the bigger douche there, sorry.” He avoided eye contact after that. “I mean, is not like I didn’t like it, damn that sounds so wrong. It’s just… you caught me by surprise and…”

“And…?” Star tried to get him to talk. It was obvious that this wasn’t the best time to talk about this topic, but it was something at least.

Trying to get some thoughts together over all the alcohol in his system. “It’s just so confusing. You’re so confusing, Star!” He pointed at her, which being so close it meant he was poking her cheek. Star laugh at his answer and he could only roll around to his side. “Don’t laugh at me.” And he began to pout his lips.

Stopping with the laugh. “I’m not. I am sorry about kissing like that.” She was extra sorry that Marco was in a relationship at that moment. “But…” She grabbed Marco’s hand before saying. “I don’t regret it, because…” There was something about saying it out loud, even with Marco being not fully there.

Still, she had been holding onto this for a while. “I love you.” Star felt a huge weight drop from her shoulders. But maybe this wasn’t as good as she thought. With Marco not fully there, she couldn’t get a clear answer. On the upside, the fact that he, probably, won’t remember this little talk could help her later on. This was a nice practice run for when the real talk happens.

Marco heard those words and held her hand tighter. “Yeah, I know… I’m really sorry Star.” He then hugged Star’s whole arm before continuing. “I’m sorry that it took me so long to talk to you about this. Can’t imagine how hard it must have been on you.” He began sobbing lightly afterward.

Star, now growing uncomfortable in that position, laid down and let her arm wrap around Marco. “A lot of things happened in such a short amount of time. I understand, and I was happy waiting for you to be ready.”

There was something in those words that echo too much inside Marco’s head, even in his current state. He decided to take some initiative and kneel up. “But that’s the thing, you shouldn’t have to wait for me. Especially with us being best friends.” He helped Star sitting up like he was. “Star… I do…” He had to pause there as a huge belch came out from his mouth, but no fire this time.

Star, so into his words, was distracted when it happened and took the whole smell from the belch to her face. She promptly covered her nose and began fanning the smell away with her free hand. “Ok, you are done for the night.” She reached out and took the little flask of clear liquid, handing it over to Marco. “Here, the bartender told me it should help you.”

She opened the flask for him. Marco took a huge sniff at the bottle. “Honey Water, so sweet.” He drank it in one go and threw the flask away.

“Ok, let’s take you to bed now.” Star got up, opened a portal back home, and put Marco over her shoulders.

“Aw, but I was so fired up and ready to talk.” He whined as Star carry him to his room.

“We can continue it another day, right now…” They were already inside his room. Star placed him on his bed as soon as they entered. “You need to rest. Good night.” She began to walk away, but before she could touch the door.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaait!” Marco stopped her with his request.

Star wasn’t bothered by him, and she was happy to have brought up the topic, as short as it was, and even though it didn’t resolve anything. She’s coming back to hear him out was more out of worry than anything else now. “Need anything?”

Marco sat on the bedside and asked. “Do you… forgive me? For going out so late and not calling you I mean.”

“Of course I do, I was more relieve about knowing you weren’t hurt.” She shot the biggest smile she had towards him.

Marco smiled back and then dropped it as another thought came in. “And… do you really… love me?” He looked away as if he didn’t know the answer already and was scared of it being a no.

Star once again began to blush and was starting to feel nervous now. Probably because Marco seemed more lucid now. It’s not like she regretted saying it, but she was beginning to have doubts about it being a good choice. Maybe she shouldn’t have let herself go in the moment, no matter how much she has been waiting to say those words.

After she opted for keeping silence. She noticed how Marco was looking right at her, with that cute, dizzy gaze, and couldn’t help it. “Of course I do.” And her light blush went fully red. It didn’t help that Marco’s eyes seemed to be shining now. “Don’t look at me like that. Just go to sleep.”

She tried going away, but Marco stopped her by holding her hand. “But, Star, I also…”

“No!” She covered Marco’s mouth to stop him from saying it. “I don’t want to hear it when you’re like this.” Marco got sad but understood what she meant. “I’ll be happy hearing it another day though. Just, be sure you are feeling it.” Marco’s eyes shot to the ground and then hugged Star goodnight.

Star said goodbye once more and left him alone to get some rest. She may have pushed him to open up to her earlier, but she still knew better than to accept a drunk confession. If Marco can’t remember this night tomorrow, it will be up to her to make the first move, but at least she can be sure Marco was ready to talk.

Still, after she got ready and threw herself on her bed, Star couldn’t contain the happiness she felt at being able to confess. It may have been a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. She had trouble sleeping over rolling around in her bed and giggling at the thought of everything that happened.

Next morning started as every other one, except that Star woke up late that day. Marco got up first and bolted to the restroom to get a shower and ready himself for the day. Star got up as he was preparing in front of the mirror, but something was odd. Even with Marco fully dressed for the day, he was still brushing his teeth and chugging mouthwash.

“Hey buddy, everything alright?” Star asked, still wearing her pajamas.

Marco needed a second to spit the mouthwash and be free to talk. “I woke up with the worst case of morning breath. How is it now?” He approached Star and she took a sniff of his breath.

Even over the smell of mint, she could still get a hint of his awful breath, but just a little. “Still there, but don’t worry. It should fade soon enough.” She began to brush her own teeth after that. But before she could get down to it, she asked. “What happened last night anyway?”

As Star began to get ready, Marco told his tale. “Well, after the job was finished the other hunters invited me to the party at the guild hall. You know? Even if I’m a member of the group, I was never really a part of it. So I thought, why not? And then the party happened and you had to come get me.”

Star realized something important after that. Even though Marco had tired eyes and a full night of heavy drinking, she asked. “And… how much can you really remember?” She went back to ready herself with the help of her wand, acting like this wasn’t really important for her.

Marco needed a moment to gather his thoughts. “I remember the guys spiking my drink with Dragon’s Breath, that’s probably the reason for my bad breath.” Another thought crossed his mind. “I remember the kobold darts and the bar brawl at the very end of the night.” As Marco got closer to the part Star took place, the girl began to slightly panic but managed to mask it. “And then you help me get home, anything important I may have missed?”

Star, silently, let out a big sigh of relief. “Nah, nothing important. I need to get ready, so if you could…” She signaled Marco to give her some privacy in order to take a bath. After picking up her towel and turning back, she noticed Marco staring at her, just, standing by the mirror and staring at her. “Uhm, do I have something in my face?” He probably still felt sorry for coming home like that. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t bothered having to get you back home, we can spend all day together if you don’t believe me.”

Marco looked away like those words brought him back to reality. “No, it’s not that it’s just… I’ll leave you alone.” And he exited the room. Star sure was confused about that but dismissed it as his brain still being tired. That was, partly, the case for him. Even if he awoke without a hangover, the night exhausted him, not helped by the fact that he barely got any sleep. “Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten out of bed today.” Marco sat down on his bed and fought the urge to lay down.

Then, why did he cut his sleep short? He did remember his little talk with Star, even the embarrassing parts, and the confession. Why didn’t he said anything earlier? Panic, fear, a number of other reasons. Star told him that she will be happy hearing it later, and she still avoided the topic. If Star wasn’t ready to talk about it, he sure as hell needed to bring up the topic himself. He couldn’t leave her hanging like that, but she just showed that she doesn’t want to talk about it. All of that confusion got to Marco fairly quick so he decided to clean his room a bit to clear his mind.

Now ready for today, Star got changed and walked into Marco’s room. Maybe he was up to some chill time. She was ready to confess, again, to a totally aware Marco. Earlier wasn’t that good of a time, she was in her pajamas for crying out loud. If she could get a good, romantic night ready, and everything went her way at the end of it. The two of them could be ridding cloud nine this very time tomorrow. She entered the room, without knocking, and noticed Marco looking for something.

“Something’s wrong?” Marco was now looking into the pocket of his black jacket.

Not finding what he wanted in his jacket. “Star, what did you do with my things after you pick me up?”

Confused now. “What things? I only brought you and everything you had on.” Now that she thought about it. Marco did go to work with his sword and he wasn’t carrying it when she went looking for him.

“My equipment! The bracelets, my chains, the tonics…” Something important suddenly dawned in his mind. “MY SWORD!!!”

He sure likes that sword, thought Star. “Maybe they stayed back in the guild. I’ll go look for them.” She reached out for the scissors on the nightstand, but Marco spoke up.

“No, I should go, you already did too much. Besides, I already remember what happened.” He took the scissors and got up.

“Ok, let’s go.” Star received a look from Marco. “C’mon, it’s just a quick stop, isn’t it?” Yeah, Marco had no objections to that. The two of them crossed the portal inside the guild hall and went directly to the bar. “What happened with your gear anyway?” She asked.

“They banned weapons inside the guild for the party. They must have them locked in the back. I just need to find an employee.” They found some girls cleaning around while chatting and approached them.

After Marco explained his situation, one of the girls, a tall, red-haired elf, told them to follow her. They need to get the key from the bartender and then get his equipment. As they woke up the bartender, after some minutes of knocking at his door, he gave the elf girl the key for the lockers. Another quick walk to the backroom later and the three of them found themselves looking at a storage mess. Not only lockers but also chests so full of weapons and equipment that it spilled out to the floor and in several stockpiles, leaving a huge mess to sort out. Worse yet, Marco couldn’t see anything resembling his things over everything else.

The elf girl just looked at the teenagers awkwardly and said. “Geez, looks like the old man just threw everything away without looking, again.”

Star quickly readied her wand. “No problem! I’ll have this sort out in a second.” She prepared her magic, but Marco stopped her hand, and the elf girl stood in front of the door.

The elf girl tried explaining. “Yeah, some of the hunters here carry items that are a bit… unstable. Not the best kind to be shooting magic at.”

Marco added. “Besides, I can handle this. I handled your closet of secrets didn’t I?” Star put the wand down and Marco got down to business. The elf girl tried to help him sort things out. “Thanks, but, I work better alone.” And with a determined look on his face. Marco tackle this challenge.

While Marco began sorting things out, Star and the elf girl stood in the hallway waiting for him. The elf girl let out a little sigh. “At least I can take a break from work.” She then looked at Star and offered her hand to her. “I’m Lily, by the way.”

Star shook her hand. “Too much work after last night I guess.”

Lily placed her hand on her forehead before answering. “Not only did I wait tables during the party, I had to come here early to clean up for tonight.” She did look tired, with the light bags under her eyes and messy hair. “Good thing I get out early today, and tomorrow is my day off.”

Trying to make some friendly talk. “Any good plans for it?”

“Of course! Stay home doing nothing all day. Probably catch up with my books.” Lily lighten up a bit as she said this. Star laughed at her plans, they were good ones. “What about you?”

“Nothing yet, but I’m planning a date for tonight. Haven’t had the time to come up with ideas though.” Star got a light blush. She wasn’t really shy about talking about this with the girl she just met.

Thinking for a moment, Lily glanced at the open door where Marco was working. She wanted to be sure he couldn’t hear them. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to be Heckapoo?”

That question took Star by surprise. “No, my name is Star. Why do you ask?”

Lily was having some doubts about saying to Star what happened, but she already brought the topic up so what the hell. “It’s just, with you being with Marco and the date plan you talked about. It reminded me of something about last night.” She noticed how worried Star looked right now and decided that she needed to know. “After some drinks, your friend began crying over some girl named Heckapoo. It sounded like they had a bad breakup.” Star jumped back after she said that. “Look, I know is not any of my business. But I thought you should know.”

Star felt like her whole plans were shot down in an instant, and her heart sank in. “Thanks for telling me.” And silence fell on the entire place.

Lily smiled awkwardly. The atmosphere sure got cold all of the sudden. “Sure, no problem.” Star didn’t seem to want to keep talking so she just said. “I should probably go back to work. I’ll come check on you two in a few minutes.” And she walked away, leaving Star alone with her thoughts.

Maybe it was her fault. Star was so eager about confessing and Marco seemed to be fully over Heckapoo that she did it without thinking. She sure was happy that Marco didn’t remember their talk now, and scold herself for being such an idiot.

Some minutes later. Marco was finally done with the sorting. Lily herself came back to thank him for doing her work, and better than how she could have done it. Marco was carrying his equipment in his arms as they thank her and went back home.

Marco made sure to put this little adventure away and talk to Star. “And that’s dealt with.” He noticed how quiet Star had been since he got his gear. “Is everything alright?”

That question brought Star out of her thoughts. “Ah, yes, everything’s fine.” And he threw him a small smile.

Marco didn’t fully believe it, but it was fine by him, they had all day to talk about it. And talking about talking. “So, what do you have in mind for today?” Star was taken by surprise by his question, again. “You… said that we could hang together all day, remember?”

Star looked away. “Actually, I… won’t be able to.” Marco was taken aback by her answer. Now trying to come up with some excuse. “I… remembered… that I already have a compromise with Pony Head… sorry.” She shot her eyes to the floor.

Totally acceptable excuse, he did go missing all day yesterday. “Well, think I can join you?” Didn’t stop him from trying to be with Star.

Star couldn’t look him in the eyes right now. “Actually… it’s more of a girl's get together.” She didn’t need to see Marco, to know how sad he was. “I should go, I don’t want to be late.” And she exited her room.

All of this took Marco by surprise. Not only did he feel down about missing his chance, he also couldn’t shake the feeling that the topic was bothering Star way more than she let on. Maybe it’ll be a good idea to prepare an answer for her feelings. One that doesn’t needs him drunk to be able to say it.

Now inside her room. Star called Pony Head on the phone. “Pony, two questions. Are you home? And if you are. Are you decent?” She didn’t have to wait too much for her answer.

“Yes, and yes. What’s going on?” Was her answer. Star didn’t bother answering her. She just took her scissors and opened up a portal to Pony Head’s house. She caught Pony Head in the middle of her exercises. “Sup, B-fly!” Again, Star didn’t even bother answering her. She just walked to Pony Head’s bed and threw herself at it. “Had a rough day?” Weird as it was just past two o clock.

Now that Pony Head was floating beside her, Star was feeling more talkative. “I confessed to Marco yesterday, no kiss this time. I only told him I love him.”

She talked like this was a normal thing to do and then regret. “And judging by your mood. I guess it wasn’t like you planned. Tell me what happened.” The two girls talked about Star’s meeting with Marco last night and the discovery she made earlier that day. Pony Head didn’t want to say it but… “You…” She held on that note for a while till a new idea appeared in her head. “Didn’t screw up!” The guy, apparently, didn’t remember what happened, so that was a plus, and she had already come up with an idea to prove if Marco was over Heckapoo or not.

Surprised at hearing that answer. “What do you mean?”

Pony Head began smiling hard right there. “Just wait here. Can I borrow your scissors?” Star complied and handed over the scissors to her. “Help yourself to anything from the mini fridge while I’m away.” And she exited the dimension.

Now that she was alone, Star decided to check the mini fridge. She found several soft drinks and half-eaten takeout food filling the thing to the brim. She decided on the cherry pop and sat back on the bed waiting for her friend.

It didn’t take long for Pony Head to come back. She was holding a black rectangle on her mouth along with the scissors. She placed both items in Star’s hands and received a confused look from her. “It’s the guy’s cell phone!” She said, proud of herself.

Star jumped in surprise and threw the thing aside. “You can’t steal Marco’s cell phone!”

“Don’t worry I just borrow it, without asking.” That didn’t help her case. “Look the guy was drunk off his ass last night, right? Well, people do a ton of crazy things while drunk. But even if he did cry about Heckapoo that’s normal.” She took the phone once again and gave it to Star. “But if he either drunk called or texted her. You’ll know for sure he isn’t over her.”

Star sat there for a long time. She thought about the dilemma in front of her for so long that Pony Head had extra time to finish her exercises and finish eating. It felt like she was betraying his trust in her, even if Marco never finds out about it. If that wasn’t enough to turn her around. The whole idea of being so crazy over him made her feel like a creep.

The princess let out a small sigh right there. “I can't, Pony Head.” And she left the phone on top of the drawer.

“No problem girl. I admire your strength.” She wasn’t lying, if she was forced to make the decision, it would have been a totally different result. “Ok then, let’s see.” She picked up the phone and began looking around for the information she wanted.

“Hey, I didn’t say you could check!” Star tried taking the phone away from her but Pony Head just floated up and away. Star needed to use her wand to bring her down, but by now Pony Head had all the information she wanted. Star knew it thanks to that huge smile forming on her face. “No! Don’t say anything, just, give Marco his phone back.”

Not bothering to fully exit the dimension, Pony Head just opened a small portal and threw the phone into it. “So, what do you want to do now? Don’t think you want to go back so early.” The two princesses lock eyes and Pony Head said. “Bounce Lounge?”

“Bounce Lounge.” Replied Star. And like that, the plan was set.

It would have been a good day if the girls hadn’t found out that their favorite club was set to close down as soon as they appeared at the entrance. All of that crying brought the curiosity of the owner upon them. At least they had a clear objective now. The club is going out of business because of slow business, it stood to reason that they just need to bring in more customers. It was the only option, Star couldn’t accept the fact that all of her memories here would go to waste, she just couldn’t.

Gathering their old crew was easy enough for the two of them. But that wasn’t enough, according to the owner. So Star got the idea to turn up the music and the partying, the whole crew and new customers party as hard as they could.

Soon enough, the club was full to the roof, with customers partying like there was no tomorrow and living up the place like never before. They even managed to complete the mortgage and everything was alright for Star and company. Nothing could take away this victory from them.

Well, nothing except the owner of the place. It turns out that she had already decided to let the place be demolished and retire with the money. It happens, especially after, almost, an eternity of partying. The guest vacated the place, but Star and her friends stayed, she wanted to ask for something.

Before the owner of the Bounce Longue could go away, Star asked. “Can we stay for a bit more?” The owner turned around and met her eye to eye. “No more dancing and all that. I just want to say goodbye to the place.” She asked so sincerely that the owner had no other choice but to say yes. This left Star and her friends to mop around the place for some minutes. Afterwards, it was just Star with Pony Head. The rest of the guest and crew left long ago.

While Pony Head was busy stealing the photo booth, Star was moping while sitting on the bar. Pony Head approached Star as she had her head resting on the bar. “How are you feeling B-fly?” As she got closer she was able to see the discarded bottles of alcohol that littered Star’s general area. “That bad huh.” She was not one to judge her friend.

Star then lifted a bottle and down it in one go. It wasn’t that full anyway. “Bad? I’m feeling awesome!” She screamed. It was obvious for Pony Head that Star was drunk, or at least tipsy. “Totally forgot about the Bounce Longue closing up.” And she cried out a bit before looking for more booze. Pony Head was nice enough to place a bottle at arm’s reach. Good thing the bar wasn’t totally ransacked. 

As Star opened up the bottle and began drinking. “All of this wasn’t just about the Longue, was it?” Star raised up a finger to signal Pony Head to wait. It didn’t seem like she was going to end soon. “Won’t you like some water better?”

Now finishing with that, long, sip. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening. My mind is sooooooooo… Everywhere, you know?”

“What’s on your mind? Tell me about it.” Pony Head got herself comfortable for the talk. She already knew what was on her mind but Star needed to want to talk.

It took some seconds for Star to speak up. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, if you don’t want to talk about it.” Pony Head was about to take her home. But…

“It’s just… stupid Marco with his stupid Heckapoo.” And Pony Head had to get comfortable again. “He’s so indecisive, and oblivious, and cute, and handsome…” She began to ramble a bit while whispering before ending with. “And I love him so much.” And then rested her head on her arms.

“Well, why don’t you tell him that, again?” Maybe she should have thought before saying that. “Look, he obviously has feelings for you, why don’t you confront him about them already? It’s better to do it sooner and get a real answer than never and regret it.”

Star brighten up and smiled at her friend. This wasn’t a new idea that she hasn’t considered, at all, but for some reason, it sounded like the best thing in the world. “You’re right Pony Head!” She got up and pointed at the distance. “LET’S GO!!!”

“Wait, what?!” She watched as Star pulled out her scissors and then open up a portal. “Uhm, think you should be doing this while you’re like… that?” She wasn’t only talking about her being drunk, her hair was a mess, and her dress was not only stained from the liquor but wrinkled.

Star stopped in her tracks and turned around to meet her friend. “Look, Pony, I had an awful day with everything that happened with Marco, and then our favorite club closes down. I won’t let it end like this.” All that pent-up frustration and sadness that she felt since yesterday just blew up right there. Maybe the alcohol gave her some courage, but the idea of losing Marco was the motivation she needed to do this.

Pony Head didn’t have another argument to go on, she just sighed and went with her. “Guess I’m joining you.” The two of them walked to the other side of the portal and found themselves in the backyard of the Diaz’s Household. Pony Head had to help Star walk those few steps to get in front of Marco’s window. Star needed to take some breaths to clear her head, not helping that she felt like the world around her was spinning like crazy.

The girls had been away for all the afternoon and night had fallen hours ago on the town. Star could have, probably, used the front door or just portal herself inside her own room, but felt that this was the best option for a love confession. Everybody should be sleeping right now anyway.

After taking some fresh air. “Marco!” She wanted to get his attention while avoiding waking everybody else up. “Marco!”

Pony Head said after Star received no response. “Well, the guy is sleeping. We should go.” She tried to take Star away, but the girl had another idea.

“Narwhal…” She burped a little before continuing. “…Blast!” It wasn’t the usual blast, this was only one narwhal, and it moved so erratically that almost missed the window.

“What the hell Star!” And the girl threw a huge smile towards the window. Marco emerged from the other side. He was wearing his pajamas and a huge frown from the surprise narwhal.

Star cleared her throat and began. “Marco! I love you.” But Marco had trouble hearing her from up there, not helped by the fact that she was slurring her words hard now, hell, even Pony Head was having trouble understanding her.

“What?!” Was the only thing Marco could say.

“I said…” And she let out a huge burp.

“Wait there I’m coming down.” Marco was about to get away from the window, but Star beat him to the punch. Star created a magic escalator with her wand. It ended directly in front of the wall and window that Marco was standing. She missed no time getting up there to meet Marco face to face. Still, she needed some help from Pony Head to get there.

“Hi, Marco! Were you sleeping?” Star asked so cheerfully.

“I was, till you broke my window.” He could already smell the alcohol on her breath. “Had a bit much to drink didn’t you? Why don’t I take you to bed so you can sleep all of this off?”

“I think that’s a great idea B-fly.” Pony Head had to speak up while she was helping Star stand straight.

“Guuuuuuys, I’m fine. Look, I can still shoot magic straight.” Star readied her wand and pointed it at the night sky. She prepared her magic and tried shooting a magic rainbow. Only for a stream of pink fire to shoot out and curve down to hit the grass, setting part of it ablaze.

“STAR!” Marco was horrified at the sight of fire consuming the backyard. Even Pony Head was distraught at what happened.

“Sorry, sorry! Look, I can fix it.” She summoned a rain cloud, a very sick looking one, that puck water to turn the fire off before disappearing. “See, told you I wasn’t drunk.”

Before any of them could speak up, they were interrupted by a voice coming from near them. “Hey! What’s all that ruckus?! I was sleeping!” It was Glossarick, coming out from the window of Star’s room wearing his pajamas and two cucumber slices over the eye mask he was wearing.

“It’s old lady Glossarick! Scram Pony Head, scram!” Star panicked and opened up a portal to push Pony Head inside. She then threw herself inside of Marco’s room and hid under the blankets of his bed.

Marco approached Star. “How are you feeling there?”

Star had already calmed enough for her to sit up. “Fine, sorry about the window, here…” She pulled out her wand and aimed it right at the broken window. Marco was ready to find cover but to his surprise, Star was able to fix it without trouble. Even the broken pieces of glass banished. Afterwards, Star lay down on the bed looking up.

“Well, thanks for that. What did you want to tell me?” Even if he was taken by surprise by Star’s sudden appearance, but he still felt worried about her.

Even if Star wasn’t fully drunk right now, she still wanted to say this to Marco, and that he fully understood her words. Now that she was sure Marco will remember everything she says it was the perfect moment to come out with it. Star stood up to look at him in the eyes and tried to speak, but was unable to find her voice thanks to the nerves.

But that didn’t last as she began to laugh at the situation. Marco saw her laughing and began to chuckle a bit himself. “What got you so happy all of the sudden?”

She managed to stop for long enough to answer. “All of this, don’t you see it? It’s like last night when you were drunk and talking nonsense.” She thought for a second there. “Oh, yeah, you don’t remember last night cause you were drunk.” She still had to laugh at all of this.

Marco didn’t know why he felt like she needed to know this right now. “Actually, I do remember everything from last night.” Those words did shut her up.

Looking up to meet him again, Star asked. “Everything?” They both began blushing and Marco nodded in response as he looked away. “Even the part where I said…” And he nodded again. “Oh, oooooooooooooooh.” Star could only look at the ground over the realization. After some minutes of the two of them avoiding glances. “So… what’s your take on that?”

“I… eh… you see…” Marco was out of words right now. He took so long to answer that he didn’t notice that Star was looking right at him with bright eyes, and the light from the moon wasn’t helping by making her any less cute.

Taking some deep breaths, Marco prepared himself to say it. “Star, I love you.” Star jump back there like she was waiting for something totally different. She was about to say something, but Marco had an idea of what she was going to say. “Look, I know it’s too soon after Heckapoo, but I could never lie to you.”

They stayed like that for some minutes, inches away from the other and Star didn’t take her eyes away from him. Marco grew more and more scared as time went on, with his blush growing even redder with time. “Say something.” He was almost begging Star to break the awkward atmosphere.

Star opened her mouth as to say something, but she soon had to cover it with both hands. She soon ran out of the room and towards the bathroom, leaving a stupefied Marco behind. Snapping out of his surprise, Marco walked toward the door and could only hear Star puking. He went against his idea to enter and decided to go downstairs. He prepared a jug of water for Star.

Going back upstairs to meet Star revealed that she was hugging the toilet, long finished throwing up rainbow colored puke. He handed her the water and Star began drinking. Marco then remembered something that could help her better than the water. A quick stop to his room later, Marco handed Star a little flask of clear liquid. “Here, Honey Water, it’ll help with the hangover too.”

She took the open flask and drank it in one go. “So sweet. Sorry about ruining the moment.” That puking sure helped clear her mind.

“Don’t worry about it.” Marco then helped her up and the two of them walked to her room. She was looking a bit sleepy.

After he was able to place her on her bed, Star spoke up. “Marco, promise me that we’ll talk tomorrow about looooooove.” She threw her hands in the air to pose.

“Sure we will. It has been long overdue that we talk about it.” And he tucked her in.

“My beauty sleep has been long overdue kids. Say goodnight to Marco, Star.” Glossarick spoke from the corner of the room.

Which prompted Star to say. “Goodnight Marco… I love you.” And she half hid her face with the blankets, scared that she may have pushed her luck too much.

Marco smiled and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you too.” Star brighten up after hearing that but did roll over to get some sleep. Marco got up and decided to go back to sleep. Tomorrow will surely be a tough day for the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I'm having issues with the later chapters. I feel this one is going to be the worst chapter of this story like it's not as good as the rest. But anyway, I'm going to try and have the next chapter ready sooner than this.


	11. More than Friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have an extra long chapter (I think the only one that covers 4 episodes) with the drawback that I'm going to need extra time to finish the next one, we are so close to the end, hang in there.

“Ah!” Star awoke with a surprise jump from her bed, the headache set in quickly after. She missed no time getting up, although, she could have gone for an extra hour of sleep, maybe two, ok three, but something told her she needed to be up and ready fast. She got into the restroom and began brushing her teeth.

Only for Marco to enter wearing his usual red hood and distract her. Star cleaned her mouth and then spoke up. “Good morning! Why are you ready so early in the morning?” She then inspected herself and realized she was wearing the outfit she had last night, all wrinkled up and dirty.

“Actually, it’s almost noon, but, don’t you remember last night?” Star looked confused at that and began to think hard about last night. “Just give it some minutes. It was the same when it happened to me.”

Star couldn't finish with the brushing as the memories began to appear in her mind. The club closing, the fire, all that puking, and both confessions. Not only did she blushed, but her feet froze in place, and her mouth couldn’t speak up.

Marco noticed how surprised Star looked there. “Why don’t you get ready and come downstairs. I’ll cook you something to eat.” Star could only nod in agreement and Marco left her to get ready.

From the shower to getting change, and walking down the stairs. Star’s mind couldn’t stop thinking about what to say when she finally sat down with Marco. It should be simple enough, right? They love each other, and they both know that now. Getting together is the next logical step.

But not only did Marco ended a relationship a short while ago, and Star still didn’t know for sure how he feels about that, but, taking Marco’s words about why they broke up into consideration, they could easily follow those steps. Just yesterday she had to learn that sometimes things just end and she can’t do anything about it.

What about her parents and all of that aspect of her life? The Princess of Mewni shouldn’t be falling in love with a boy from Earth, maybe. It’s not like she would date Marco to spite her parents or something like that, she’ll like to freely date him without having to hide their relationship too.

All of those negative thoughts swarmed her mind on the time it took her to arrive downstairs, she could already smell the food ready. She decided to bury all of those thoughts away, at least till she had her stomach full, and walked into the kitchen and meet Marco with a smile.

As she entered the kitchen, her brunch was ready and waiting for her, she found no Marco around. She picked up her food plate and dig in. As the food went away, there was no other sign of the boy anywhere. The food was still warm when she began eating, so he couldn’t be far away. She picked up her food plate and walked towards the living room, maybe he was waiting for her to finish there.

But as soon as she entered the living room, a blast of blue magic encased her inside a magic crystal, and she dropped her food. Exiting his hiding place behind the couch, Rhombulus spoke up. “Aha! You thought you and your accomplice could escape from me, but no evildoer can escape my crystals.” He opened up a portal with his scissors and threw the crystallized Star and Marco to the other side.

Star’s entrapment was soon followed by her head being freed from the crystal and she found herself in a totally different place from Marco’s living room. She was also met with a loud. “Why did you cause the fritz!?” She couldn’t help it and began screaming at the weird crystal guy. After being frozen and freed one more time, her attacker presented himself as Rhombulus, he, apparently, works with her mother and needs some questions answered.

That name clicked fast for her. “You’re the time-out guy.”

Surprised at being called that. “What? Who calls me that?”

After listing some of the people, she soon realized. “Really, all of the members of the Magic High Commission calls you that.” Her answer didn’t appease him at all.

So he went down to business. “Why are you causing the fritz?”

Star didn’t know anything about some fritz, not even after Rhombulus educated her about what the fritz was. It did sound like a big deal with everything magic not working, but that didn’t matter to Star right now. She was half frozen in crystal now, and her captor sounded crazier by the minute, but a bit nervous too.

It turned out that he is just scared about screwing up so much in the last few days. A feeling that Star can sympathize with. They also bonded over their mutual annoyance towards Glossarick. All of that really lighten up the atmosphere around the place and helped them to have a good time just talking.

While they were eating donuts and drinking tea, Rhombulus noticed something after inspecting their tea table. “Hey, I think I have seen your friend before. Has he ever stop by the High Commission?”

“Marco? Don’t think so. We don’t usually stop by so upright places when we go dimension hopping.” And she filled up their cups of tea.

“You two go cruising dimensions much?”

“Of course we do! Every day is a new adventure for us.” She brightened up right there.

“Aw, such awesome friends you are. Wish the old goat could get in the mood to sightsee once in awhile, at least go out for a walk.” He rested his head on his crystallized hands.

Star giggled a bit after that. “C’mon, it can’t be that bad. You guys just have different, tastes that’s all.” He didn’t look that pleased with her answer. “Take me and Marco for example, he is always freaking out about rules and work and I’m into the mindset that everything will just work itself out in the end. But even after all of that, we still work together like a charm.”

Rhombulus reacted there. “Well, yeah, but you two have so much chemistry going on.” He sipped from his cup before continuing. “I can tell by the way you look at him.”

Star didn’t jump back, she wasn’t even surprised that he noticed that. “Thanks, Rhombulus.” And she felt down all of the sudden but didn’t want to show it in front of his new friend. “Hey, I’m pretty sure you two have awesome chemistry too.”

Rhumbulus didn’t notice Star’s mood change, he just kept thinking about his situation with Lekmet. “Thanks, but, sometimes I feel like chemistry isn’t enough to keep a relationship going. Maybe I should take the initiative, not just wait around for him.”

That hit Star way more than she expected. “It is a good plan, but, aren’t you scared about that?” He received a strange look from him. “I mean, put aside his answer for a second and think about what happens next. Aren’t you scared about having a fallout or, in the worst scenario, breaking up? Just the awkwardness alone it ought to be hard.”

He needed to think for some minutes about her words, she did have a compelling argument. “Of course that’s always a possibility, Star, but when you get down to it every relationship ever carries that little capacity of failure. But you can’t let fear ruin your relationship.”

While he got busy finishing his cup of tea, Star was still thinking about his little speech. It is stupid to focus only on failure, and it was worst when she already knew how Marco felt for her. Besides, the two of them get along so well, how could she think that they can’t make this work? They can make it work if they do it together.

After she had that thought, another idea pop into her mind. “And… and what about the rest of the world? Like your work, don’t you think that could mess you up?”

This time Rhombulus was quick to answer. “Well, that’s not a problem, not a problem at all.” He noticed how this didn’t answer Star’s question. “Think about it. Let’s say that you and your friend here are dating and, I don’t know, his parents don’t like it.” That sounded a bit farfetched to Star with how much she knew the pair. “If you two really love each other, and I mean, really love each other, then you’ll have no problem tackling that issue, together.” Star looked surprised there, it was weird she never thought about it that way. “That’s the point of having someone important, not being alone to face the world anymore. Well, one of the points.”

And those last notes did help Star smile up. She realized that she lost her confidence for nothing. “You’re absolutely correct Rhombulus, there’s no need to worry about the future or what other people will think when you have someone to love.”

“Yeah, I think so…” He got a realization like a bolt of lightning. “Heeeeeey! I know what you're doing there.” Again, Star looked confused. “You used some sort of ‘psychology’ to make me realize that I shouldn’t be scared of messing up so much.” He began laughing out at all of that. “Looks like you did learn a thing or two from Glossarick.”

He looked so happy that Star couldn’t help herself but laugh. “Don’t work yourself too much over that. You are a good person, you just got too into your work. And don’t worry about what happened today, I’m no snitch.”

“Thanks for that Star! And everything else for that matter.” The two of them shook hands and Star got to the task of carrying crystallized Marco back to his home.

Once back on Earth, it was just a matter of unfreezing him with the help of Rhombulus. Marco then jumped up screaming. “Ah! Star! Where’s that weird crystal guy!”

And Star shut him up with a bite from her brunch that she picked up from the floor. “There, Marco, don’t worry.” The two of them sat on the couch and she then got to the task of explaining everything that happened to her, just keeping part of the conversation she had a secret.

After all that briefing Marco had only one question. “Was that food on the ground?” After Star nodded a no, he had a second question. “So… are going to have our talk now? I mean, it’s totally fine if you don’t feel up to after all that happened.”

“No! I mean, yes let’s talk about it.” She didn’t want to lose her train of thought after all that good advice she got from earlier. They stayed in silence for a couple of minutes, not really knowing how to proceed. “Uhm… Mind if I speak first?” Marco sat straight and gave her full attention after that.

Now, what to say? Star’s past worries did ease up after his little tea party, but she still didn’t have any clear idea on what to say. But she was sure of one thing. “Marco, I don’t want you to feel pressured, or feel like I’m pushing you to do something you don’t want.” Marco sure wasn’t expecting those words, but he kept quiet to hear her out. “Earlier today I was so scared about what could happen to us if… you know… We were to date and all. But I’m not scared anymore because I know that whatever happens, we can overcome it, together.”

That sounded way too serious, and mature, for Star to say. It sure surprised Marco hearing those words come from his best friend, but he couldn’t argue that it was a good point and that it did calm his nerves. “Thanks, Star, it’s so good knowing that you feel like this. I also think we can do anything.” Still, he needed to make something clear. “Look, I know it’s too short after Heckapoo, but I don’t want you to feel like a rebound girl. You’re not that, and I do love you.” More than erasing any doubt that Star may have, he wanted to say this out loud so he could finally close that chapter of his life for real. “And I would like for us to date.”

Star, on the other hand, began to look a bit worried about his words. “Is not that I don’t believe you Marco, or I don’t want to date you. It’s just… I still think…” Or more like, fear. “That you still haven’t gotten over her, sorry.” Even after all she said, that was just if they got together. And she won't take that step forward without being sure that Marco is over Hekapoo.

And Marco’s face dropped. “Fair enough, it’s too early I get it…” So, now what? Was the only thing the two of them could think now. “We could… take it slow.” He received a questioning look from Star. “I mean, we already hang out, like, all the time. Would our relationship really change that much if we were to start dating?”

Fair point, what could really change on their day to day lives if they decided to date? “But, take it slow? What do you mean with that?”

“Like, we hang out the same way we always do, we can even call them dates, but we don’t call ourselves a couple, and we get together when we feel it’s the right time for it.” He may have said his idea out loud without really thinking, but he knew this wasn't a bad idea.

“Yeah, that, actually, sounds fine.” She had some issues with this from the start, it sounded like being friends with benefits or something like that. Suddenly, another thought quickly appeared on her mind, one that complemented this idea. “If it’s real, then, there’s no need to rush it.”

“What do you mean?” Marco sure didn’t know what she was talking about.

“Don’t worry about it.” She still needed to touch some points with him. “How long will we go like this?”

After taking his time to answer. “As long as we need, I guess.” Not wanting to end their talk on the down note, he added. “Star, I do want you us to be together, make no mistake of that. I’m going to prove you that I can be the best boyfriend… I just don’t know how, yet.” And he smiled at her.

And Star smiled back, it was reassuring to know he was hyped out about this, she couldn’t be left behind. “I’m going to prove that I can be a great girlfriend too.” They sealed the deal with a hug.

After they separated. “So, what do you want to do now? Nachos and a movie, or we can go out and enjoy or free time.”

Star thought about it for a minute. “Let’s go out, maybe we could find something interesting to do in town.” And they did just that.

Their day was fairly normal from that point on. They two of them went around town, talked with some of their friends from school, walked around the park till they had to stop to get something to eat. Some burritos later, they found themselves wishing to see a movie, so they did just that.

It does be amazing how different they felt doing all of this together, even if this was stuff they did, almost, every day. Even if they didn’t go around kissing, or even holding hands for that matter, the feeling of, finally, being a couple and spending time together as one did make them feel happier than usual. It was like getting a wish granted or having a dream come true, it felt better by the second.

As they were walking home, the sun was setting already, Star suddenly thought about something that made her giggled all the way home. “What’s so funny Star?”

“It’s just when we were talking with the girls back at the park without telling them about us.” And she knew how much they’ll wish to know, some more than others. “It felt like we are secret lovers.” Marco smiled at that, while blushing, and look away from her. “See, you liked the ring of that, don’t you?” It was just a joke that she had held on for all day but still sounded so appropriate right now.

“Yes, I do like how that sounds, but I’m not calling us that.”

“C’mon, we could be like the couples from… whatever thing that has secret lovers on it.” She got in Marco’s way to stop him from going on. “We could sneak around school to kiss in private, or go out in the night so we can see each other in secret, maybe even leave secret messages for the other to find.”

Marco had to chuckle at her ideas, she really was enjoying this. “Only problem Star. We don’t really need to do any of that, is not like we don’t live under the same roof, to begin with.”

Star then span around to his side and the two of them kept walking. “You’re such a killjoy.” She said, playfully. They finally arrived at the front of their house. “Well, the first day of us being secret lovers and it’s all looking good for us.”

Marco just rolled his eyes at that, still, with a smile on his face. “Well, the night is still young. Want to sit in front of the TV and eat nachos?”

“Hell yeah, I do!” And Star ran inside to prepare the TV and couch for them while Marco walked to the kitchen to prepare the nachos.

Again, it was the usual activity for them, just with a twist at the end. They watched the usual channels and enjoy their usual nachos. But once their bowl emptied, their hands got together. They held hands while sitting in front of the TV so naturally that they didn’t even feel it. Once it was time for Marco to clean up, he felt a tug coming from his left arm, he had just pulled Star up from her seat while he was holding her hand. Even Star was surprised at this but still laughed about how oblivious the two of them were being.

Once Marco was finished with the cleaning with the help of Star, they made their way to each other’s room. Only stopping in the middle of the hallway to say goodnight.

“So… goodnight,” Star said her goodbyes for today and began to walk away.

Only for Marco to reach out and drive her closer to a hug, one she warmly complied to. He let her go after some seconds. “Goodnight.” Star smiled at him and kissed him, just under his mole, which made the two of them blush a little. The two of them retreated to their own rooms after that. They made their own celebrations in silence and lost some sleep over everything that happened till they fell asleep.

As Star said, this was their first day as a ‘couple’, and it went alright. The same could be said about the remaining of their free days and first days of school. To their credit, they did work hard to keep their new relationship status a secret, almost as hard as making it work as a couple. They kept to their deal and didn’t saw themselves as a couple, just, very close besties, as Star called themselves when she wasn’t using the term secret lovers. They held hands when alone, kept the kissing to almost zero, while avoiding the mouth, and brushed off any jealousy that appeared from time to time. Although, that last part was easier said than done sometimes, and they still couldn’t resist the urge to steal some hugs once in a while.

It soon turned a month after school started. It was Friday and the two of them just arrived at school and Marco had a surprise visit from his friend Janna. “Hey, Marco, how’s it going with you and Star?”

Not catching anything weird there. “Fine, like always, what about you?”

They had time before the bell rang so they could keep talking without worries. “Excellent, but I do have one question for you.” Marco gave her a look telling her to proceed. “How long are you going to keep pretending?” And he looked confused there. “About you…” She got closer and whispered into his ear. “… And Star.”

As Janna separated from Marco, he had to contain the surprise he felt right there. There was no point in denying it though. “How did you know?”

They both spoke softly as to not be heard. “Well, you two act like your usual selves, so it was difficult to notice something odd. But when I took a closer look it was an easy deduction. Besides…” She then pulled out her phone to show Marco a picture. “I caught you kissing the other day after school.”

It happened earlier this very week after Star had landed herself on detention once again. He had waited for her to be out and say hello by kissing the other on the cheek. Maybe that’s when Janna caught them. “So, why haven’t you tell everyone about us?”

“I respect your decision not to do it yourself… Why are going at it like this anyway?” It was obvious that something was worrying her.

“We just thought it was better this way. To take it slow so that we can figure things out first.” He delivered his answer in a monotonous tone like he had practice saying this before.

Janna wasn’t buying it, there was something wrong with that idea. “But, don’t you think this might be worse for you both in the long run?”

That question took the words out of Marco’s mouth. He truly couldn’t see any problem with the idea, even less how it could hurt Star, but for some reason, he couldn’t help it but be lost of words, like the idea brought new thoughts to his mind.

“What do you…” And the bell rang right there. “We will talk during lunch.” And all of the students went to class. Marco thought about Janna’s word during class. Could he be really hurting Star by going on like this? Role Playing like they are a couple. Or could he be the one that’ll end up hurt? A fate he would wish to avoid taking his last breakup into consideration.

The moment that lunch began, Marco got up and signaled Janna to follow him. Star got so busy with some classmates that she didn’t notice the two of them making their exits. They didn’t bother getting lunch, they just walked out to the parking lot, Oscar’s music could be heard in the distance.

“What did you meant by that?” The first words out of Marco’s mouth.

“Well, think about it, safe kid, you’re good at that. Haven’t you thought that, maybe, you’re just playing couple for the fun of it?” She didn’t pull any punches.

“Why would we need to do that? We do love each other.”

“Marco, you broke up with Hekapoo before winter break started, which means you and Star got together during said break. You really think that’s enough time to get over a breakup?” Not like Marco hadn’t thought about it before. He had tried hard to make this relationship work, but that lingering feeling, or fear, she was talking about was still present.

He let out a big sigh before answering. “I know that, but… I do want to make it work with Star.”

Janna placed a helping hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure you two want the same, but, have you thought that, if you can’t do it, Star would be the most devastated by this?” Marco could only look away. “She’s been so in love with you for a while now, even more than you could think, what if…” It was a terrible thing to say, especially to her friend, but it was a doubt that was eating from the inside. “Are you sure, you aren’t doing this just to make her happy?” She prepared herself to be yelled at or some other extreme reaction from Marco.

To Janna’s surprise, he just took her hand away and spoke up. “I’m not, I do love Star, and I want us to be happy.” He still had to look away, not all of his doubts were as easily cleared. “I just hope I can do it. I’ll never forgive myself if I end up hurting her.”

There was something in his words that made Janna smile. “Damn, you sure sound serious about all of it…” Her smile dropped there. “I’m sorry, for what I said. I do want you guys to be happy. It’s just…” Marco interrupted her there.

“You’re worried about Star, I get it.” And he smiled at her.

“More like, worried about you two. Good luck.” She smiled back, trying to tell him he has her support.

“Thanks, you’re a good friend, Janna.” They hugged and then made their way back, maybe they could catch some quick lunch before class started again.

All the time after their little talk. Marco kept questioning himself about his relationship with Star and everything that Janna said to him. Once school was dealt with, Marco and Star made their way back home. But Star knew something was off with him, they were never this quiet on their way home.

“What is it, Marco?” He said nothing. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

Just as they were close to his house. “It’s just…” Just there, they noticed the entrance door was sawed open. “What the hell happened there?” And there was a car on top of another car parked on the sidewalk. “Just, what…?”

Smelling trouble, they both prepared to enter. Star circled around and Marco kicked the front door open, finding Miss Heinous and her minion talking with Mr. and Mrs. Diaz. They both soon launch their offensive, with Star’s spells pinning the deformed minion to the ground while Marco tackled Heinous. But the fight soon was interrupted by Marco’s parents. It was frustrating, to say the least, Marco’s parents were so worried about missing dinner with another couple that they wanted Heinous out of there as soon as possible, and Miss Heinous was so adamant about punishing Marco in the most horrible of ways that both parties soon found themselves in a stalemate.

Marco saw this full of annoyance. Yes, maybe he did destroy Miss Heinous livelihood and vaporized her favorite assassin. But she made her life brainwashing Princesses into a shadow of their former selves, and the assassin was… an assassin, but they sound pretty close by the way she talks about him. The argument got to the point where Marco couldn’t take it anymore.

“ALRIGHT!” That at least got everybody’s attention and Marco was able to speak up. “What if I just…” He was about to say ‘apologize’, but, he wasn’t sorry about what he did, at all. Besides, that won’t solve her issue of living in a car. He took a look around to see if he can come up with something. It’s what Janna meant, he can’t go half-assing this kind of situations. He noticed then, the forearm of that assassin squirming and got an idea, that he didn’t like. “What if I could get your buddy there back to normal?”

Miss Heinous thought about it for a good minute. She had resigned herself to wait for Rasticore to go back to normal. “And would you go around to do that?”

That caught him by surprise, maybe he shouldn’t have said that without any way to back it up. “I have my ways. All you need to know is that it’s possible.” Maybe. “But I’m gonna need to take the arm.”

Placing all of her, reluctant, trust into Marco. Heinous hugged the arm goodbye and hand it over. “Don’t think I have to state what will happen to you if you can’t meet your end of the bargain, right?”

“Not at all, I’ll come back as soon as possible.” He took the arm and tried to take his scissors out to exit, but he began to struggle with the arm. It was there that Star helped him taking the scissors out.

Smiling as she held the scissors out. “And I’m coming with you.” She noticed that Marco was about to argue. “Looks like you’re gonna need all the help you could get.” She approached him to whisper into his ear. “Finding out how to cure him.” He shouldn’t be surprised that Star saw past his lie.

“Fine, but I need those scissors, you don’t even know where we are going.” The two of them laughed there.

“And, Miss Heinous and her assistant can stay here till this matter is resolved.” Mr. Diaz spoke up.

“What?! But, dad, I don’t trust her to be around while…” Marco was then interrupted by her mother.

“But nothing dear, we are as responsible for setting this matter as you are. She can join us in our couples night… if she wishes to.” And Mrs. Diaz would prefer she doesn’t feel like it.

“Oh! Thank you, your Highness, it will be nice having a decent roof over my head.” At least Miss Heinous was happy now, maybe she won’t be that much of an issue.

With that settled, Marco took Star and the arm to the only place he hoped could help them. The magic herbalist’s shop inside the bounty hunters guild. Surprisingly, the store was closed, but Marco knew the herbalist lives in the back of the store. It took some loud knocking for it to come down and receive them.

For Star’s surprise, the herbalist was a tall, ebony black skinned, white-haired, and red-eyed, elf. He was wearing a pair of dark goggles, beige pants under blue robes, his hair was fixed on a ponytail, and he smelled like fart. “Hello, Marco, I’m busy right now, but tell me what you need and I’ll see if I can help you.” Hearing that girly voice also surprised Star. She was sure the elf was a, extremely feminine, guy.

“Sorry about bothering you. We are trying to speed up this guy’s recovery, think you can help us?” Marco presented the arm and the herbalist lifted her goggles to take a better look.

After some seconds of just inspecting the arm without touching it. “Look, why don’t you come inside?” She welcomed them in, closed the door behind them, pulled the curtains out so they won’t be bothered, and raced to the back of the store. “Just wait here, I have to turn the burner off.” That was the only excuse she gave them before running off.

Some seconds later, the teenagers could hear a small explosion coming from the back and a cloud of green smoke appeared, out of that came the herbalist once more, and Star now knew why she smelled so bad. The herbalist had a small coughing fit before she could speak up. “Sorry about the wait…” She then took a deep breath right there. “All fine now. Place the arm on top of the table, please.” Marco took a look around, not able to find the table she was talking about. “Right, sorry, place it here.” She then approached a stack of books and pushed it away to reveal a table under the books, and a little cloud of dust rise up as she did it. Marco did as instructed and placed the arm down. The herbalist took out a doctor’s bag and pulled out a magnifying glass. “This will take a while, so, make yourselves comfortable.”

They took her on her invitation and sat by the shop’s counter. Just looking around while the elf girl works. Marco was already used to the place, but this was new for Star. The shelves and glass displays of several bottles and weird looking plants were expected of the store. But the different animals embryos inside pickled jars, the shrunken monster heads, some huge jars with awful smelling mulch in them, and the huge mess of things inside sure wasn’t. Hell, with the curtains covering the only windows in front of the store, the place was so dark right now.

“This place gives me the creeps. Are you sure we couldn’t have gone somewhere else?” Star approached Marco, and he placed an arm around her to calm her down.

“It was the only place I know that could possibly help us. Even if she doesn’t know what to do, maybe she can point us in the right direction.” He could still hear the elf fidgeting around on the back of the store, so he needed to entertain Star some more in order to calm her nerves. “This places also gives me the creeps, but I barely had to stay long. Look there….” He pointed at a huge cauldron at the corner of the room. “That’s where she makes the tonics all of the guild uses. She cooks the batch and then you choose the flask you want it in.”

Is not like she was bored, or annoyed, at his words, it’s just that Star had a bad experience with them. “You’ll know about those things, don’t you?”

Marco was taken aback by her words, he was about to speak up but the herbalist called them back to speak. Once they were back to the table, now with several lights and opened like an operating table. “Ok, so, I found out that the patient is part lizard, so he should be back to normal after a while.” And they both already knew that. But the girl wasn’t done, she pulled out a book from a book stack and rumbled around the pages. “But if you want to speed up his recovery, I’ll suggest…” It took a moment for her to find the right page. “Here, a bath in Hydra’s Blood.”

“Wait, what? I thought the thing was poisonous.” Star spoke up as soon as she heard danger.

“REAL hydra blood is. I’m talking about a special alchemical medicine, don’t worry, this one is just mostly dangerous.” The image on the book depicted a large barrel with a bubbling substance inside. Maybe they couldn’t read it, but the several skulls with crossbones and the huge red letters could be taken as a clear warning.

“It still seems really dangerous,” Marco spoke up after eyeing the book.

“And expensive! But don’t worry, I have all the materials here. I can cook up a batch inside a wooden tub, have it ready in a few hours, then it’s just a matter of dipping your friend inside of it for… one day… tops.”

None of them were sold on the idea, yet. “Have you done this before?” Good question from Star.

Looking kinda nervous now. “Well… no, but the book has clear instructions and safety procedures, it will be a piece of cake. The only thing we need to worry about is not to get it on our skin, eyes, clothes, drink it, inhale the fumes for too long, or stand by its side for a long period of time, radiation you know?” To her credit, she did look eager to try this out.

Marco was baffled by all of that though. “How are you so sure he will survive all of that?!”

“Don’t worry, Marco. He is part lizard, so he won’t be affected by most of the hazards, and I can inject it with a solution that will ease up the rest of the effects.” She looked at them eagerly, just hoping for them to pick her idea.

Star and Marco were in a pickle here, they could pass the chance and go looking for a safer method even though it will take them more time to find, or they could go with the first option and have Heinous out of their backs forever. When you put it like that, the choice was pretty obvious.

“Are you up for this, Rasticore?” Marco asked the arm, it was better to ask for the patient's permission before doing this. Receiving a thumbs up as an answer. “Alright then, how can we help?”

The herbalist perked up there and turned some pages on her book before speaking up. “I already have the ingredients and materials, just help me with the tub and tent.” As the three of them walked to the storage room. “Oh, and one of you better go tell the bartender about what we are doing, he’ll appreciate a little heads up.” And Marco got into that task.

It took them an hour or so to gather everything they needed and set everything up. They set up a tent in the garden and placed the wooden tub with water inside. It was now time to prepare the medicine and the arm.

“So tell me again, why do we need the tent?” Star asked while holding the severed arm wrapped in a cloth.

“The Hydra’s Blood is going to smell horrible, not counting on the fact that it will be better to keep all that light poisonous gas contain.” Responded the herbalist. “Now, Marco, give me ingredients, and put on your gas masks.” Doing as instructed, the three of them wore their masks and the brewing began. As the herbalist began dropping the ingredients into the tub, Star and Marco helped by stirring the water to mix everything up. Once the water began to thicken and it took a dark green color the gases began to come up. Thanks to the whole face gas masks, none of them were bothered by the smell. “Yes, it’s coming along nice and good, pass the arm, Star.” She did as instructed and the herbalist unwrapped the arm. The herbalist had already covered with a special ointment to avoid too much corrosion. “And one last thing for you.” She took a huge syringe with a strange clear liquid inside and jammed it between the fingers. Afterwards, they placed the arm in the middle of the water and they exited the tent, after making sure it didn’t dissolve instantly, it did squirm a little once inside though.

Once outside, they all took the masks off. “So it will take a day for it to be fully healed. If you need to enter to take a look just wear your mask.”

Marco could only groan at that. “Awesome means now I have to phone home and tell my parents that they’ll have to spend the night with that crazy woman and her assistant.” And he walked away to do just that.

“Why don’t you go rent a room at the inn? It looks like Marco could use a break.” The herbalist was talking to Star. Through her eyes, the teenagers were so obviously forced into doing this, maybe a little night away from everything could help them.

“Yeah, good idea, thanks for the help…” Star then realized they were never properly introduced.

“Goodness me! I never told you my name!” She then began laughing loudly. “I’m Ysolde, pleasure to meet you.”

Star also had to chuckle at that. “And I’m Star.” The two of them shook hands there. “I’ll go inside, tell Marco where I’m, please.” And she went away to book a room. She went inside the tavern to talk with the owner. She found it pretty easily as the whole place was empty. “Hey, why is the place so dead?” She asked the pigman.

“Something about an orc army gathering up somewhere. It will have everybody busy for days. Need anything?”

“We're gonna need a room for the night.” The bartender gave her a numbered key and Marco joined the pair there.

“That’s settled with my parents.” And he sat on the bar stool letting out a huge sigh.

“What did they said?” Star signaled the pigman for two drinks as she asked.

“They sounded, surprisingly, happy, and said they’ll let Miss Heinous sleep in my room tonight. So, yeah, I’m going to have to sanitize the whole place after we arrive.” The drinks were already in front of them as he finished. “Non-alcoholic?” The bartender nodded in agreement and Marco began drinking. “We might as well get comfy in here. Anything you have that we can eat? I’m starving.” Fair point, he went from school directly to this little adventure.

The two of them enjoyed their little dinner in that tavern but soon realized they didn’t have money to pay the bartender, nor the herbalist once the job was over. Easy fix though, Star just needed to make a quick stop home to take some cash from Marco’s drawer, and a change of clothes for the two of them, as well as their toothbrushes. She did all this without being seen by Marco’s parents nor Miss Heinous, they were too busy enjoying the night with the other couple they had over.

Once she came back. Marco and Star decided to take it easy at the guild. They hang around with Ysolde and the bartender for a while, gave Rasticore a few rounds as the hours passed, and once the sun was down, they decided to call it a day and go to their room. To their surprise, they were given a medium sized room with just one bed, a bit bigger than Marco’s. Star missed no time throwing their luggage on top of their bed and then herself, just to bounce on it for a bit.

Marco had to laugh at that little show. “Guess you’re fine with the room.” And he sat down beside her. “Sorry about dragging you to this.”

Star stopped with her bouncing and sat down with him. “Hey, I bring you to a lot of crazy places, this is pretty tame by our standards.” She hugged him just to make it clear that she wasn’t bothered by this. “I do want a shower though, I can still smell all those fumes.”

After smelling himself. “Yeah, I need one too. Come I’ll show you where they are.” He walked Star to the female showers and he entered the male ones. They both changed into their pajamas and went to sleep. The bed gave them enough room to not make it an awkward night, not that it stopped Star from cuddling.

But even trapped in Star’s embrace, Marco couldn’t find rest. His mind was still troubling him. He, slowly, free himself from Star’s arms and stood up, maybe a walk outside would clear his mind. He grabbed a spare lantern and walked around the garden, not finding something to keep his mind busy, just several fireflies and a full, dark blue moon. It was no surprise that he found himself inside the tent with their little experiment inside.

Grabbing one of the gas masks, and the lead vest they left once the tub turned radioactive, Marco entered the tent and found their patient looking better than he was at the start of this. He was a full arm and half a torso now, the exposed stumps looked pretty lively too. Marco sat at the corner of the tub and stared at the assassin for a while, not really knowing what to do.

Least he could do is say hi. “Hey… Rasticore… how’s it hanging?” To his surprise, the arm moved up and gave him a so-so hand movement. He stared at him for a few seconds before continuing. “So… think you’ll be fine by tomorrow?” He received a thumbs up at that. “That’s good.” Without anything else to say, he began to sulk in there. It was only when Rasticore placed a supportive hand on his shoulder that he felt like opening up. “I just have a ton of things inside my head. Have you ever been in a meaningful relationship?” The arm made two gestures as an answer, he placed one finger up, spun it around and pointed back with his thumb. “Once… A while ago?” And the arm gave him a thumbs up again.

“Alright… look I’m, kinda, dating Princess Star now, and…. Well… I just don’t know if it’s going to work out.” He didn’t know what he was expecting out of this little talk, but Rasticore just signaled him to keep on talking. “It’s the fact that we come from such different worlds, she is a princess from another dimension dammit!” Rasticore then stopped him and poke him in the chest. “If I love her? Sure I do, more than anything.” He then shrugged his only shoulder. “So what’s the problem? Well, everything! Look I know that I may sound paranoid, but I just want Star to be happy, and keeping her in a relationship that is doomed to end would just break her heart.” The arm then dismissed his thoughts and poke him on the chest once more, harder this time. “You saying I’m the problem?” The arm signed a no with the finger, poked him on the forehead, waved a no once more, and then poke Marco on the chest. “Follow my heart, not my mind? You know, I always hated that advice, you gotta keep a realistic mind on a relationship.” Rasticore then placed his arm on his vestige of a hip.

Seeing this made Marco chuckled. “Sorry, sorry, I do appreciate the advice. I get it, maybe I need to stop worrying so much. Maybe I’m just scared of losing her, heavens know I could mess up big time one of these days.” He didn’t get a response from this like before, it took some extra minutes for the arm to wrap around his shoulders and then pat him on the head. “You don’t think so? Rasticore, I’m a teenager from Earth, I’m sure Star have met way more interesting guys than me.” The arm then pointed at himself inside the tub, making a point to signal at his recovering wounds. “Yes, I did leave you like that, but, if it wasn’t for Star, my life would never be this exciting.” He then smiled at the memories of the adventures he has had with Star. “But she did choose me over all those, hypothetical, guys. Damn, I just want to be good enough for her, you know? I need to show her how great of a boyfriend I can be.”

Rasticore then pointed at him with a serious hand movement. He kept doing that as he had no other way to communicate. “Don’t think I fully get what you’re saying. Look, let’s put a hold on this conversation till you can talk, what about that?” Rasticore gave him an ok sign and Marco excused himself out.

Only to be met by the herbalist on his way out. “Goodnight, Marco, having trouble sleeping?”

Now taking the mask and vest off, he answered her. “Kinda, what are you doing so late?”

She presented a little glass bottle with a white liquid inside. “I need to mix this solution into the tub, it will dismiss the toxic fumes and radiation. This is the last part of the treatment.” He noticed how Marco had just gotten out of the toxic tent and advised him about it. “You should take a shower and change clothes, the poisonous atmosphere must still be in your clothes.” Marco nodded in agreement and she entered to administer the substance.

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Marco made his way back to his room. His little ‘talk’ with Rasticore was still fresh in his mind, it did help him a little bit, and was intrigued about talking to him again. Just what could he had wanted to say back there? Now that he was back in his room, he went back to bed, with care as to not wake Star up. He pulled the blanket and covered himself with it. But before he could go back to sleep, he decided to kiss Star goodnight, just a little peck on the cheek.

To his surprise, Star spoke up. “Where were you?” She didn’t move from her spot nor did she opened up her eyes. She simply had noticed his absence earlier but didn’t think too much about it till now.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I took a walk outside.” He then cuddled with her under the blanket. “Sorry for waking you up.”

“Don’t worry, glad you’re fine now. Goodnight then.” And she went back to sleep, followed shortly after by Marco.

The next morning was normal enough for the two of them. They got ready and ate at the tavern, which even at those hours of the morning was still empty. Marco phoned home to see if everything was alright with his parents, no problem there. They killed time around the marketplace till the herbalist called them over to the tent. After taking her rounds to check on the patient, Ysolde determined that he will be fully recovered in a few minutes, so they needed to make some preparations.

They got a hose to wash him down once he came out, some towels, and fresh clothes, paid by Marco. With that ready, they removed the tent and inspected the tub. There was no more water inside, just a huge blob of transparent dark green sludge. Inside of it, the figure of Rasticore could be seen in the fetal position. They sat back and waited for him to break out himself. It didn’t take long for him to, slowly, rise up and screech loudly, he was fully recovered and wanted to show it to the world. But before he could finish with the screaming, they shot him with the water hose, cleaning all the remaining sludge out of him.

“Wash everything off guys,” Ysolde spoke to Star and Marco, who were both smiling right now. Once they finished with that. “Here it is big boy, dry yourself off.” And she handed the towels to the assassin. With that done, they all stepped into her store.

Some analysis later confirmed him to be fully fit to leave. Some reflex, cognitive, muscle, and memory tests that needed to be done. Once that was dealt with, Rasticore changed to his new clothes and spoke up. “I’m hungry and thirsty.” Understandable, even if he was back to his old muscular self, he was just a forearm yesterday. Deciding that she needed to look after what the patient eats, the herbalist went looking for the food with the help of Star.

All of that left Marco alone with Rasticore. “How was it? Being an arm and all that.” He was just trying to find something to talk about.

Speaking up with the same intimidating tone as always. “Not that bad, it was like a little vacation from the job.” Well, somebody saw the bright side in this situation. “By the way, about our talk.” Marco paid his full attention to him right there. “You said you need to show Princess Star that you can be a good partner. It sounded to me that the only person you’re trying to convince of that is yourself.” He finished that by pointing at him the same way he did last night.

“Um… I mean… I just… want to… be enough for her.” Marco sure was lost for words at the moment. His statement made so much sense for him at the moment.

“But the Princess already chose to be with you. She has already decided you’re what’s best for her.” And that was it for Marco. The only one looking for trouble in this relationship was himself. He could worry all he wanted but he was already making Star happy.

Marco smiled lightly and answered. “Believe me, you’re making it sound way simpler than it really is.”

“Perhaps, you should talk to her about what’s bothering you. Maybe if you hear it from her all your doubts will be erased.” With that, he concluded the topic closed.

“What about Miss Heinous? Can we get your word that you’ll not come after either of us?” Marco spoke his doubts. All of this would have been for nothing if he needs to disintegrate him once more.

“You help me out and made a deal with her yourself. I’m sure she’ll have no further issues with you.” And they both shook hands to seal their agreement. In came the girl with the food and water he requested. While he ate, Marco and Star brought him up to date with Miss Heinous situation and living arrangements.

As they were getting ready to leave, Marco still had to pay the herbalist for their help. Taking out the money in a cash bag. “Here it is, you can count it if you want.”

“I know that won’t be necessary, besides, I manage to get a ton of information about the treatment. Thank you two for trusting me.” She shot the teenagers a warm smile.

“No problem, Ysolde, and you did a wonderful job.” Star hugged her goodbye and the two of them, plus their new companion, went back home.

They stepped into Marco’s house through a portal. The voices and laughs of Marco’s parents and Miss Heinous could already be heard from the living room. They walked into the kitchen and found them all talking around the table. Once the group entered, Star and Marco said hello to Mr. and Mrs. Diaz while Heinous Stood up to hug his newly revived assassin.

“Oh, Rasticore! So good to see you up and going again!” And he reciprocated the hug by placing an arm on the woman. But quickly, Miss Heinous face turned into an evil glare. “Now, why don’t you go and destroy Princess Marco once and for all!”

But before they could get worried about her words. “I won’t do that Miss.” And Heinous looked confused at his words. “The Princesses delivered on their end of the deal. It will be a huge dishonor on your part and mine to go against it now.”

Sighing in agreement now. “You’re right, besides, The Diaz are great hosts. Alright, Princesses, I won’t try and destroy you anymore, I have bigger things to worry now.” With that said, their surprise guests pack their things and said their goodbyes. “Oh, Your Highness, thank you two for having us.”

Mr. and Mrs. Diaz shook her hand. “It was a pleasure having you around, sure hope everything works for you.” Mr. Diaz said, hoping this meant this weird woman won’t have to stay with them again.

“Thank you again for the help.” Rasticore shook Star and Marco’s hands.

“No problem, see you around,” Star said her goodbyes and they all see them out. After a few attempts to start their dimensional chainsaw, that group was finally gone from their lives.

After a little pep talk from Marco’s parents, Star and Marco retrieved upstairs to have some quiet time. Marco also wanted some time alone with Star to talk. Now that they were lounging in Star’s bedroom it was the perfect time for that.

“Hey, Star?” The girl gave him all her attention. “Star, are… are you happy with me?”

This not only took Star by surprise but it also confused her as to why he’ll doubt that. “Of course I am. Marco, you know how I feel about you, and I know how you feel about me. Ain’t that enough?”

That’s what he thought while he was dating Heckapoo and look how that turned out. Not that he was about to tell Star that. “But… Have you thought about our parents? What about when you need to leave Earth?”

“Don’t you think you’re worrying too much?” And this freak out didn’t look like his usual.

“No, I’m not!” Star was startle at his reaction. “I don’t want us to break apart by these things, but how do you expect us to deal with those issues if we don’t speak about them?”

But there was still something that Star couldn’t catch onto. “Look, we are not even a couple right now, I don’t know why you’re worrying this much.” Like she felt insulted, Star crossed her arms and looked away from him. “If you don’t want to work hard to make us work, why don’t you just say that you don’t want us to date?”

“I do want us to date, Star. But not only that, I want us to be together forever.” Just as he finished that, Star spoke up.

“Then why can’t you believe that we can make it work?!”

“Because… because I’m scared that you’ll end up miserable with me… I don’t want that…” And he looked down, saddened at his words and worries.

Star approached him, placing a helping hand over his shoulder. “That’ll never happen Marco.” She then hugged him close and said. “And to answer your previous question, I’m happy with you. You make me so happy just being close to me.” Marco couldn’t help but smile at her. “And don’t worry about our parents, we can speak to them once we are ready to open about our relationship.”

“How can you be so calm about all of this?” Marco didn’t let go of her like he’ll lose her if he did.

“Because we love each other.” And she kissed him on the cheek to reassure him of that point. “For me, you’re worth all the hassle that will be dealing with my parents or working a long distance relationship.”

“And you’re worth every single danger I would face by dating the Princess of Mewni or going around dimensions.” He kissed her back in the cheek. “I should go clean my room.”

Star just laughed and said. “Yeah, you should.” But neither of them broke the hug. “Or we can stay like this for a while longer, no worries.” They both chuckled at that.

Marco couldn’t avoid thinking how true what Rasticore said before really was. It did help him hear Star say how much she loves him. Something about Star’s enthusiasm made him sure that all their problems could be resolved. They just need to work together. Maybe they could make this work.

Weeks passed in Earth. Star and Marco have been growing stronger in their relationship while still keeping it secret, but that was quickly falling down as they grew more reckless by the day, they were just not ready to go public. What about the rest of their time? Star got the whole school angry by destroying the possum statue, Marco wanted to start kicking ass and take names at how they all treated her, but the princess was able to deal with the problem by herself. Marco was able to make a friend out of his karate master, but not much else after that. And not a single attack from Ludo in months, maybe Marco scared him away.

But even after all the ups and downs from the last few weeks, they still had one thing to look forward. It was almost a miracle but Star managed to get a hold of two tickets for the Love Sentence concert happening today. They have to be there and nothing is going to stop that from happening.

But this night meant more for Marco than just seeing his favorite band play live. He and Star have been taking it slow for a while now and he finally felt confident enough to take their relationship to their next level. This concert was the perfect opportunity to ask Star to be his girlfriend. He set up a flawless plan for it, he just needed to wait for the right moment to announce his love for her, even though she already knows that, and ask the question. Simple and to the point, it has been long overdue.

Star had similar ideas for how this night should go. She was happy with the way their relationship was going and was ready to take a leap of faith. Marco has been showing some good signs that he was way over Heckapoo, but she wasn’t fully sure about it yet. That’s the reason for this leap of faith. The two of them have been taking it easy for so long, and even though she loved every second of it, she couldn’t contain the urge of moving forward, to take their relationship to the next level. And she had the perfect idea for that, they have been avoiding kisses in the mouth from the very beginning, but she was about to change that tonight. A good, real, kiss as a couple was her bet for tonight, Star was going to place all her hopes about this relationship in that one kiss. She could already see it, the two of them kissing while Love Sentence plays in the background, that’s the kind of story you tell to future generations, she could also picture Marco blushing hard as he is caught by surprise.

Well, it was time to get going. “Here, I made us t-shirts for this concert!” Star showed Marco a pair of Love Sentence t-shirts.

Problem was, Marco’s was way too tight for him, but he still had to smile and accept it. “Thanks, Star, they are beautiful.” He said while trying to avoid getting choked by the collar of the shirt.

Star was happy, and that’s what mattered, so they made their way to the concert and things sure went south from that point onwards. Marco ended up tripping on top of a family of ducks that needed to be taken to the vet, and he had to pay for it and there it went all his funds for the night. He was so distracted by the t-shirt and trying to keep the mood up to that he got them lost on the way. Once they were on the right bus to take them to the concert. “I’m sorry, Star. I’m just making our day worse with every step I make.”

Hearing that only make Star smile. “Don’t worry, we are together and that’s what matters.” But that didn’t seem to lift his spirits. “C’mon, Marco. I prefer to have a bad time with you than a wonderful day with any other person. Besides, look! We are already here.” She signaled to the window where they could already see the stadium and Love Sentence billboard.

At least that put a smile on Marco’s face. But that didn’t make him feel better if his luck continues like this his plan will fall apart, no doubt about it. Star was worried that the mood was dying between them. This night was supposed to be a fun one and they were going to share it. She still had high hopes that it will get turned around, they both adore Love Sentence, that should lift their spirits up.

At least that prediction came true. As the music started playing and the band stood on top of that stage, their eyes shine at the spectacle and their ears were in heaven hearing the music. They both sang together, cheer with the crowd, and threw their hands in the air full of happiness. They were in such a happy state that they totally forgot about their worries and their plans for tonight. This was the best time of their lives right now, nothing could ruin this.

It was when ‘Just Friends’ started playing that they started to lip-sync the lyrics. They could see the rest of the audience forming couples and kissing. Star knew this was the right moment to carry out her plan. Well, it would, if she didn’t find herself frozen once she turned and saw Marco eye to eye. Maybe it was those puppy dog eyes he was sporting, but she began to blush hard and looked away from him. The boy went through those same feelings and couldn’t maintain eye contact with Star.

“So… uhm… you, like, want to…” Marco said in between stutters.

Still looking away from him, she answered. “Well… I mean… if you want to…” They stayed quiet for some seconds and she could feel her hand being held. Star looked up and saw Marco holding her hand while still looking away from her. She smiled and placed her hand on his cheek. As Star drove him closer to kiss him, Marco didn’t fight her and complied.

None of them were unfamiliar with kissing or kissing each other for that matter, but this felt different from previous times. It was more intimate and special for both of them. It was like a wish getting fulfilled. The moment their lips touched everything went quiet and could feel connected to the very soul.

Once they separated, they blushed harder and smiled happily. They continue enjoying their concert all while still holding hands. The concert was amazing and they loved every minute of it, but they didn’t say a word to each other for the rest of the night. They could only steal small glances from the other. They will blush every time the other caught them red-handed and then giggled at how silly it all was. It was until the end of the concert and they were making their way out of the stadium that they finally spoke up. They spoke about how amazing the whole night was and how great of a time they had there. All that talk was so lively that they zoned out from everything and everybody around them till they were blocks away from home.

Marco could already see his house in the distance and suddenly remembered something important. “Crap.” And they both stopped in their tracks.

Taken by surprise at his choice of words. “What’s wrong?”

“I forgot to ask if you want to be my girlfriend.” He began to chuckle at how he missed something so important. Star not only lost her ability to talk but was now blushing harder than at the concert. “I was waiting for the right time, but you blew my mind with that kiss and I couldn’t think straight.”

He could see Star still frozen by his words and took this opportunity to speak his heart. “Look, I’ll understand if you won’t believe I’m over Hekapoo, but I can assure that you have nothing to worry about.” He thought it obvious to address this issue first of all. “Star, I love you and nothing makes me happier than being with you.” Now that he was serious, he found it difficult to ask the question. Gathering all the courage inside of him. “Would you be my girlfriend?”

After snapping out of her initial shock, Star repeated that question one more time inside her head. “Yes!” She yelled and hugged Marco with a strong grip. Really, this whole night went better than expected for her. “And I love you too. Come, let’s celebrate.” She dragged Marco to their home with a huge smile on her face.

“Celebrate, how?” Marco sure was happy right now, not like he expected some other answer form Star, but this attitude of hers took him by surprise.

“I don’t know, don’t worry about that!” Once inside, the teenagers enjoyed each other’s company, it was late and they were tired from the concert so they stayed home for the rest of the night. That didn’t stop them from staying up late cooking several snacks, Star nailed hers, watching movies, and just talking amongst themselves while watching said movies. It was the usual night together, the only difference was that they couldn’t stop. Once they were done with a movie they played another one. If the snacks ran out, they just prepared another batch. It was like they didn’t want to go to sleep and make the night last forever. Nonetheless, sleepiness got the better of them and they fell asleep on the couch, covered in their Friendship Blanket, maybe they need to rename that now.

Rest of the weekend they spent on Earth. They didn’t mention their new status to anybody, and they didn’t really care about doing it. Marco’s parents only found out when they kissed while having lunch, that was a fun talk to have with them, even with all the new ‘boundaries’ they have to talk about with the new couple. That following school week sure was excited for them, all school was talking about the new couple, and their close friends sure were glad that they finally got together.

Even after days had passed, the novelty wore down at school, and Marco’s parents and mutual friends were getting used to them being a couple. Star and Marco still felt as happy as when they first got together. It was like they felt happier knowing they had the other, that they were together and could tackle every issue together.

So now Star and Marco have had a pretty chill time as a couple. They were happier with each passing day and knew they could depend on the other. It sure seemed odd when Star returned home with a sour face. She made a quick visit back to Mewni on her mother’s behalf but Marco didn’t think it would go so bad as to have Star angry with such a short visit.

The girl sat beside Marco on the living room couch and let out a huge sigh. “What happened?”

“My mom wants to send a songstrel here to write a stupid song about me.” Marco raised an eyebrow at that.

“That sounds nice. Why are you so upset about it?” He threw his arm over her shoulder to appease her.

“It’s about this stupid holiday, a silly song that says nothing about how I am even though it’s going to be played in front of all the kingdom.” Song Day, a day to celebrate what the Queen and Princess are not about, to paint a pretty picture of them for the kingdom.

Marco looked pensive for a second there. “But surely it must be important for your mother. Why don’t you just sit with songstrel and plan this thing out? It could surprise you.”

Star stood up before answering. “Good idea, but that’s not going to happen. I already decided to avoid him till he leaves.” And she walked away.

Trying to catch her before she walked out of sight. “At least tell me when he’s coming!”

From the kitchen. “Tomorrow!” At least he is coming on a Saturday. Marco thought for a while if he should talk with her more in deep about this. But hey, it was Star and she does what she wants. Still, he couldn’t avoid thinking there was more to this.

Saturday came fast, and the songstrel with it. He knocked on the door and presented himself to Star. “Greetings, Princess Star! I am Ruberiot.” And he began playing his lute to an uninterested Star.

“Stop. I get it. Come in.” She heard his request of getting to know the ‘real’ Star and already she was done with him. It was easy for her to excuse herself and ran out of the kitchen window. Her plan went smoothly and she only needed to have a good time with Janna and come back once he is gone.

This, however, left Marco alone with Ruberiot, and the teenager sure got annoyed with the lute fast. But this was a good opportunity to ask about something that caught his attention. “Hey, when you said you want to know the ‘real’ Star. What did you mean by that?”

Ruberiot stopped playing his lute, at last, and focused on that question. “It’s just that every song talks about how the Princess is so perfect and lives in her own perfect little world. I want to write about a real princess with her own gifts and flaws.”

That sure sounded nice for Marco. Don’t know why Star feels so bad about doing all of this. “Wait here, I’ll go check what’s taking Star so long in the kitchen.” One quick look at the other room revealed that Star had bailed on them. He thought for a minute on what to do now. He didn’t think the guy is just going to accept this and go on his merry way, and not getting that song will surely anger Star’s mother. Marco took some iced tea from the fridge and went back to the living room.

After handing Ruberiot his mint tea, he asked. “Hey, when is this Song Day supposed to happen?”

Ruberiot took some quick sips from his drink before answering. “Tomorrow.”

Ok, the Queen will surely be pissed if she doesn’t get her song, and the idea of ruining the party for a whole kingdom didn’t appeal to Marco. “Alright, look, Star just ran away, she said she didn’t want to do all of this.” The songstrel looked worried for a second. “But I can help you with the song. Star and I are dating and we have lived under the same roof for almost a year. Pretty sure I can give you a fair assessment of the girl.” After those words left his mouth, Marco realized why he wanted to do this. He was happy about the idea of people knowing about Star. He knew how amazing the girl can be and wanted everyone to know it. It will be a good way to make the Queen know her daughter better and for Star to have something of hers to be proud of. Besides, who better to describe her than her best friend and boyfriend.

“Alright! Tell me everything you know.” He sure looked excited about it, probably because he already had some good ideas on how this song will go.

Marco could only laugh and began retelling his tale. He spoke about the first day they met and how they didn’t start like friends but grew into liking each other friendship. Then came how they grew into best friends and the several adventures they enjoyed together. He told about the time she saved his life and sacrificed her wand in return, one of the most precious memories he has of them. Although this was supposed to be a talk without lies, Marco knew better than to speak the whole truth to someone that will sing about it in front of thousands of people. Some topics he avoided were his own relationship with Hekapoo, understandable, this wasn’t about him and his ex, that one time Ludo almost stole the spell book, and the point where he got lost with said spellbook. He mostly kept the talk about Star, how awesome she is, and how she has affected his life for the best.

They stayed hours just sitting there talking. It was till Marco felt his throat dry that he stopped. “Sorry, I have to get something to drink. Mind if we take a break.”

“Sure, sure. I need some time to look over my notes anyway.” He filled half his notebook already but his mind was full of ideas.

Marco took his time enjoying his drink in the kitchen. He had to smile at how good this was going, surely Star will be so happy once she hears the song. Suddenly, he heard something coming from the other side of the window. It sounded so meek, maybe Star was already back from her little escapade. He approached the window and open it up, but found nobody on the other side. Right there, Ruberiot entered the kitchen.

“Hey, Marco, do all houses on Earth have rats that chew on you?” He lifted his right arm to show Marco the rat biting him.

Marco turned around and before he could spring into action, a huge group of rats entered through the window he just opened, knocking him down. Not only that, the rats barged in from the door and broke several windows in order to get inside. Once Marco recovered from the initial attack and was able to fight back, he knew for sure that this was an attack by Ludo.

Star now felt relieved after her little get together with Janna, she had spent enough time away from home that she was sure that songstrel was long gone. She arrived with the same cloud that took her away and was confused at finding the front door knocked down and some windows shattered. The sight didn’t get better as she entered the house. Knocked over furniture, broken glass everywhere, and holes in several walls. But that was only property damage, several unconscious rats littered the place too, and Star knew what this meant. “Ludo.”

The princess then panicked as she couldn’t see Marco anywhere, she began checking the bodies and broken furniture till she heard someone grunting under some debris. She ran towards that voice and found Ruberiot. “Oh, it’s only you.”

“Princess! We’ve been attacked!” Ruberiot managed to say in between dusting himself off and keeping calm.

“Yeah, I can see that. Where’s Marco?!” She shook him by the collar of his shirt.

“Some derby fall on me and knocked me out. The last thing I remember is him fighting a huge spider on the staircase.” Staircase, which meant they were going up, which meant…

“The book!” Star ran upstairs with Ruberiot behind her, he wasn’t going to miss the end of this fight for nothing.

As they were about to enter Star’s room, they found Ludo’s spider unconscious by the door. That only worried Star to the point of forgetting subtly. She broke the door open with a swift kick. She found Marco fighting Ludo, a handful of rats, and that eagle barehanded. It was clear that this has been a long fight for Marco, he was breathing heavily and had some light cuts and bruises all over his clothes and body.

“Marco!” Star was ready to launch herself into the middle of the action, but she was stopped by the awoken spider attacking from behind. She was obviously taken by surprise and could only see Ruberiot standing by the door frame. “Why didn’t you warned me!?”

“I’m a bard princess, I can’t interfere with a story in progress!” That’s the only excuse he could give the struggling princess.

“Star!” Marco was about to run to her rescue, but Ludo smacked him on the back of his head with a magic blast.

“Don’t let her get in the way!” Ludo ordered his minions to kept Star busy. And with Marco on the ground, he approached the spell book discarded on the floor. “Glossarick, Glossarick!” He tried to awaken the blue man.

Out came Glossarick, but it was clear that he wasn’t all there as they awoken him from his nap. He was wearing a bathrobe with slippers, an eye mask, with two cucumber slices over it, and earmuffs. He began wearing the earmuffs after Star and Marco kept him awake at night one too many times. In between yawning and stretches. “What do want, Princess?”

Ludo missed no time. “Eclipsa’s chapter, open it!” He heard his wand talking about the dark chapter. How he needed only a quick glimpse at it to gain enough power to rule over his enemies. That promise alone was enough for him to risk everything on this assault.

With the voice muffled thanks to the earmuffs, Glossarick compiled. “Sure.”

He got the key ready but Marco tackled Ludo to the ground and Star managed to shake the minions off. “No! Don’t open it!” Star yelled at the blue man if Ludo was willing to risk everything just for that, it was best if he didn’t get it.

“Not opening.” Glossarick put the key away.

Ludo saw this and blasted Marco away from him. “Didn’t you listen?! Open it!” And Glossarick once again reached out to open the chapter.

Marco got frustrated by all those blasts and reached out for Ludo’s magic wand. “Give me that!” The two of them began struggling for the magic wand. So Marco and Ludo were fighting on the ground. Star was busy surrounded by the remaining rats, the eagle, and spider. And Ruberiot was busy taking notes of the fight.

“Let me go, boy!” Ludo tried to shoot him off of him, but Marco was strong enough to move the wand away from him every time he fired a blast.

“You let go!” Marco then picked Ludo up and spun him around, throwing him at the eagle at the right moment it was trying to swoop down and attack Star from behind. The two them crashed on the wall.

“You’ll pay for that!” Ludo tried to shoot another blast, but find his hand empty.

“Looking for this?” Marco showed him the magic wand he managed to take away from him.

“Good one Marco!” Star then shot her own Narwhal Blast that sent the remaining minions away. But that wasn’t it, she then used a magic lasso to round them all up and threw them at Ludo, burying him under all his minions and incapacitating him from further battle. Once that was done, Star missed no time celebrating. “We did it, Marco!”

“We won Star!” The two of them ran to each other’s arms and kissed in the heat of the moment. Once they broke the kiss, they hugged tightly. “He is watching us isn’t he?” Marco was talking about Ruberiot, who left the safety of the doorframe to take a closer look at the couple.

Once they broke the hug. “Meh, let him be. They sure made a mess out of the house.”

Marco chuckled a bit before speaking up. “Don’t worry, we at least kept them away from the…” Before he could finish, however.

“Here it is Princess.” The teenagers looked to the side and were met face to face with the spell book with Ecplipsa’s chapter open and Glossarick standing by its side.

Marco saw this and then felt the magic wand on his hand tremble. Star saw how a cloud of black smoke came out of the book and picked Marco up. Star tried grabbing him by the arm and keeping him on the ground, but she wasn't strong enough for that. Suddenly a weird purple vortex appeared on the ceiling and she could see his eyes turning green, and Marco began to smile, evilly. But what scared her the most was Ludo’s magic wand growing skin and covering Marco’s own right hand. On all that confusion, Star was frozen in place and found herself unable to act.

Marco took a look at his new hand, moved the fingers to check everything was right and spoke. “Hello, Star.” And that sure wasn’t Marco’s voice. But it sounded so familiar to the girl.

“Wait, that doesn’t sound like a princess at all.” Even with the earmuffs, Glossarick knew that voice was bad news. He took the cucumber slices and eye mask off in order to take a better look. “Toffee.”

“Toffee?” Star spoke up confused at all of this.

“Yes, Star. I’m here for my finger.” He showed the girl his hand with one missing finger. That smile on his face didn't appease either of them.

It was just the three of them facing off against this new threat. But before Toffee could jump to the attack, a sound from the other side of the room caught everybody’s attention. “Call from Mom”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the beginning, I wanted Star and Marco to take a bit longer to get together, like, wait for another chapter or the like. But I ended up pushing things forward in order to get the story moving. I think that Marco being afraid of losing Star like he did Hekapoo is fitting for him in this story, and Star having extra faith on their relationship also fits, although she isn't delusional and knows it will be too early for Marco to start dating again.
> 
> Anyway, let me hear what you think about things so far.


	12. Separated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, I'm pretty much posting this as soon as they are ready now. BTW I'm not good at writing lyrics so I had to find a way around it.

“Call from Mom.” Spoke the magic mirror in Star’s bedroom. Even though Star was still confused at everything that was happening, she knew when to consult her mother. “Accept!” And Toffee didn’t look too happy about that.

Queen Moon was away all day trying to find Ludo’s hideout. But even after consulting his family she wasn’t able to find him. Being left without a clue, she decided to come home and asked Star how her song was going. Imagine her surprise when the call connected and she saw Star’s room all thrashed out. The first thing her instinct told her was that Star must have thrown a party, but that quickly went out the window when she saw the unconscious pile of animals at one side and the vortex of dark magic at the other, with Star looking nervous. “Star?” Was the only thing she could say before Toffee, in Marco’s body, got in the picture shot a blast from his hand that destroyed the mirror.

Once Toffee aimed his hand at Star, the girl did the same, locking the two in a standoff. “Marco, what are you doing?” Star didn’t understand anything that was going on, and having her boyfriend pointing a magic wand at her with the intent to shoot wasn’t helping. “Put that thing down!” She tried to show some courage, but her shaking hand gave her real emotions away.

Toffee chuckled a bit before answering. “You’re a slow kid, aren’t you?” The tone of his voice sent shivers down Star’s spine. “Marco is long gone. Now, do as I say and hand me back my finger.” Star knew what he was talking about, but she couldn’t comply.

Before Star could say or do anything else, Glossarick spoke up. “Or what? You think the future Queen of Mewni is scared of you? Show him what you got, Star.” As if he was giving an order, he pointed at Toffee with a serious look on his face. But once he saw no blast being fired, he turned and saw Star shaking. “C’mon Star, you can kick his ass. Why don’t you?”

Her answer was clear. “But, what about Marco?”

Hearing that answer, Toffee laughed at the princess. “This is your future Queen? So scared she can’t fight.” He prepared a blast to incapacitate the girl, gathering his energy in the palm of his hand. Star braced for impact and Glossarick got out of the way. They both prepare for impact but Toffee’s blast never came. They opened up their eyes and saw him shaking his right hand. “Sorry about the wait. It’s never done this before.” He tried to shoot another blast at the girl but to no avail. He could only look puzzled at the crystal embedded in his hand.

Right there, Ludo was able to crawl from under the pile of animals and saw Marco fidgeting with the crystal of his wand. “Hey, that’s mine! Don’t touch…” He was shut by a green blast from Toffee that sent him flying back towards his minions.

Toffee couldn’t help but be even more confused now. “Mmmm, it’s not broken.” Remembering he has limited time, he shrugged. “Gonna have to do it the old fashion way.” He approached Star and grabbed her throat with his left hand, she could only yelp as he did this. “Give me my finger!” He lifted his free hand in a threatening way like he was ready to slap her. Before he could do anything else, however. A portal opened inside the room and out came Queen Moon, wearing her battle armor, and with several royal guards following behind. “Moon!”

Hearing her name came out of such familiar voice, Queen Moon ordered his guards. “Restrain him!” Toffee threw Star at the guards and reached out for Glossarick.

He squeezed Glossarick hard to prevent him from running away and they jumped on top of the book. “I’ll be taking the spell book with me I know you won’t mind that.” Queen launched herself to stop him, but Toffee was fast enough to reach for Marco’s scissors and open a portal on the floor. It was just a matter of tipping the book and himself into the portal.

Queen Moon could only watch as Toffee slip away from her. “NO!” She screamed in frustration and punched the floor in anger. But she quickly had to regain her composure, Star didn’t look fine at all. Right now, Star was being held by the guards but that shocked expression didn’t leave her face. “Come here, Star.” She reached out and hugged her daughter, trying to calm her down. “Tell me everything that happened.” She signaled the guards to apprehend Ludo and his minions while the two of them sat down to talk.

Star retold everything that she saw after she arrived home. Their fight against Ludo and how Marco got affected by Eclipsa’s chapter once Glossarick opened it. She even dropped Toffee’s name so that her mother knew everything. Even after all of that, Star still had an important question. “What’s going to happen to Marco?”

Not like she had an answer to all of this, she didn’t even have an idea of what was happening. “I promise you, I’ll bring your friend back. But you have to promise me that you’ll stay out of this.”

Now, that was one condition Star couldn’t accept. The princess separated from her mom and spoke up. “You can’t ask me to do that! That’s Marco’s life on the line!”

“And yours too!” Moon kneeled down to see Star eye to eye. “This is too dangerous for you, please, let me and the Magic Commission deal with Toffee. I don’t want you to get hurt.” She placed her hand on her cheek, but Star pushed it away.

“You can’t ask me to do that! I’ll do anything for him.” She tried to stand her ground.

And the two of them locked gazes, trying to stare the other down. They stayed like that till they heard a voice coming from the doorframe. “Well, I think I have anything I need for Song Day. I’ll just leave you alone to deal with this.” It was Ruberiot trying to escape the awkward atmosphere. Star had totally forgotten he was there but didn’t stop him from going back to Mewni, it’s not like he knew something she didn’t.

But Queen Moon sure was affected by his words. “Oh no! We have to get back for Song Day!” By now the guards had already sacked Ludo and his gang, so it was a matter of breaking the news the Diaz about their son. “Star, we have to clean everything before Mr. and Mrs. Diaz show up.”

“Marco is in danger and the only thing you can think of is that stupid holiday!” Star couldn’t believe how ridiculous her mother was being right now.

“Star, this is sure to bring bad times for the kingdom. Song Day will help calm down and keep the panic away from the people.” It’s not like her priorities were screwed up, quite the contrary. Queen Moon knew how to cover all her bases before going out to risk her life. And it’s not like the thing was just a day away and all the preparations for it were ready with thousands of people waiting for it eagerly. “Besides, the Magic High Commission will be there. We have time to explain this to The Diaz, track your friend to wherever Toffee took him, and formulate a plan to save him. I promised you that I’ll save your friend. Have some faith in me.” Besides, she knew the fallout she’ll have to face once the Commission finds out about Glossarick being kidnapped and how she couldn’t stop it. “And think about this, Star. Toffee won’t dare hurt your friend.” They are sharing bodies after all.

None of this helped Star calm down, but she knew what to do. Star prepared her magic wand and used it to clean up her room. Before moving forward to clean the rest of the house. “Marco’s parents should arrive shortly. We’ll speak to them together.” And she carried on with her task. There was a lot to clean after the attack.

After that task was done. Star and Moon sat down in the living room and waited for Mr. and Mrs. Diaz to arrive. They didn’t say anything to the other, they just sat there with Star looking sad and Moon eager to go back to Mewni, there was a lot that needed to be done but this took priority. They waited a bit over half an hour before the couple came back home. They sure were happy to find a surprise guest in their home but something about the looks on their faces didn’t feel right.

Once their greetings were said, Star asked them to sit down and she was the one that spoke up. “Mr. and Mrs. Diaz…” She found it difficult to continue but after taking a deep breath. “Marco has been kidnapped, again.” Star heard their reactions and let them finish before continuing. “My mom and I are working hard to rescue him. I promise you I’ll find him and bring him back home as soon as possible.”

“Believe me, we may be here, but my guards are already working hard on finding out where they took him.” She was sure Ludo must be talking his guts out right now, so that wasn’t a problem. But she noticed how Star didn’t mention about the boy being controlled, maybe she has a better understanding of the situation than she lets on.

Star stood up and took a step forward. “Please, I know it’s scary, but you can trust us on this. You know I’ll never let something bad happen to him.”

The couple looked at each other, then at the girl in front of them begging for their trust. Mr. Diaz was the one that spoke up. “We understand, Star. We know there’s not a lot we can do in this situation, but we know we can trust you two with the safety of our boy.” Sure, they wished they could ride into battle like they did last time, but by the atmosphere they were getting from the two of them, it was easy to guess that won’t happen.

Mrs. Diaz then reached out and grabbed Star’s hand. “Please, bring our boy back home safe. We know how much you care for the each other.” Star could only step forward and hug the couple.

They said their goodbyes, with Star promising once again to bring Marco home. Star was able to keep it together as she and her mom went back to Mewni. “Star, you did the right thing back there. It’s better they not knowing everything.”

Star rubbed her eyes, trying to clean away some tears that were flowing, and spoke up. “I don’t want to imagine how harsh that could have been to them.” After getting another hug from her mom. “What are you going to do now?” Everything happened from here on, she needed to be involved as much as possible.

“I need to go talk with Ludo. We need to know where his hideout is.” Star stopped her before she could get going.

“Let me go with you!” Moon threw a stern look towards the princess. “I know what you said! But you can’t let me out off the hook on this!”

Moon let out a big sigh. “Alright Star. But you say nothing, I’ll do the talking.” Besides, it was better to bring Star along than to push her to get herself into more danger. She could talk her out of this later. The two of them arrived in front of the cell where Ludo and his gang were being kept and Moon talked to the guard standing by the door. “How are the prisoners?”

“Hanging in there, no matter how much we interrogate them none of them are talking.” That sure was a surprise, Moon was sure that getting information from Ludo would be easier and she didn’t want to resort to violence. They entered and saw Ludo, with his mouth cover, and his minions chained to the wall. The guard walked them to the eagle and spider. The guard promptly spoke to the two of them. “Now, tell us where your hideout is!” And received no response. “See? Is like they can’t even talk our language.”

Queen Moon facepalmed and said. “That’s because they can’t. The ringleader is him.” She pointed at Ludo looking angrily at them.

“Oh, sorry. In my experience, the ugliest one is never the leader.” And Ludo screamed at him for his comment.

“Thanks for the assistance. Now, leave us, we need to talk with the prisoners alone.” The guard let them alone per the Queen request. Moon ungagged Ludo and asked. “Where did Toffee go?” Quick and to the point.

“I don’t know! I haven’t seen him since you destroyed my castle.” He looked at Star and the princess shot him an angry look.

The Queen continued with her interrogation. “Don’t lie to us. You have been controlled by Toffee all this time.”

“What?” That sentence sure confused him, but he had to pay attention now.

“We know it was the wand. We don’t know how but he is inside your wand.” It would have been harder to believe if Star hadn’t told her everything that happened back on Earth. “Tell us where he is, now!”

“Wait, go back to the part about him being inside the wand.” That sure will explain a lot of weird things. That voice he heard and kept him awake at night telling him what to do.

Star intervened right there, she was tired of the stupid act. She grabbed him by the neck and began shaking him. “STOP LYING AND TELL US WHAT WE WANT!!!!” Moon tried to drag her away from Ludo but Star broke free. “Toffee took Marco! If you think I won’t do what’s necessary to bring him back, you seriously underestimate me!” Before she could get more violent, Moon picked her up and walked out, Star was still screaming at the prisoner as the door closed behind them, leaving a still confused Ludo with much to think about.

After taking Star out and letting her down. “Mom! What are you thinking?! He was about to spill the beans.”

“STAR!” That scream sure shut the Princess up. “I didn’t want you to come for that very reason, I know you’ll lose your nerves.” She went easy with her earlier, but there was no room for subtly right now. “I know how much you care for your friend. But this is a very delicate situation, you can’t go around blowing up like you did there.” Moon knew with just the look she was getting from Star that she wasn’t ready to hear reason. “Tell me, do you really think acting like that will help your friend?” A bit harsh, but if Star wanted to help, she needed to keep a clear mind.

It suddenly hit Star. Her mother didn’t know about her relationship with Marco. And something told her that if she were to tell her, her mom wouldn’t be too happy about it and won't let her help anymore. Moon was talking about keeping a clear head and not to guide yourself with emotion right now, at least, that’s what Star took from her words. Star could already see her mom throwing some sort of excuse about this being too personal to her. “I get it, mom. I promise it won’t happen again.” And she didn’t stay to hear her answer, she just walked away, her nerves were still burning.

Moon wanted to say something else, she thought her words may have been too hard, but she managed to shot those thoughts away. She did retreat back to her studio to analyze the situation further. Ludo could wait another night in that cell and she will have the perfect team to tackle Toffee tomorrow.

Star went back to her old room in the castle to lay down. This was such a long day and tomorrow was ought to be a tough one too. But as soon as she did that, her father barged inside her room. “Star! How could you had forgotten to say hello to your old man?”

Star chuckled and got up to hug her dad. “Sorry, I was helping mom with some business.”

Once they separated. “I know, I know. She already told me that she will have to go out and I’ll be watching the kingdom for a while.” He then placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. “She also told me about your friend. How are you feeling?”

Star sat back down and looked away from him before answering. “I was just a bit shaken at first. But now I’m more determined than ever to save him.”

River stood beside her and said. “I know you can do it Star… but…” He knew Star wasn’t going to like this at all. “Don’t you think that your mom and the Magic Commission have all of this cover?”

That just won him a shocked look from Star, a betrayed one. “What do you mean? You think I can’t be of help?!”

Now he needed to do some backtrack unless he loses her in anger. “That’s not it sweetie. I just couldn’t bear you getting hurt.”

Now he was just being ridiculous. “C’mon dad. You know I can handle danger.”

He sure knew, but this wasn’t the average kind of danger. “But Star. You don’t need to take this risk. Have some faith in your mother, she is familiar with dealing with Toffee.” More than Star knew actually.

Star wasn’t in the mood to argue, but she didn’t like being underestimated, especially by her dad. “Look, I know you both worry about me. But please understand that I can’t sit down and do nothing while Marco is in danger.”

River let out a huge sigh, he wasn’t going to get anything else from the girl right now. “I’m not asking you to forget about your friend or to stay completely out of this. I’m scared of you getting hurt, we both are.” And he received no answer from the girl. He took this as a sign to excuse himself out, leaving the girl to finally get some shut-eye.

But it sure was hard to get some peace of mind after everything that happened. Even after getting changed to her pajamas and getting comfy in bed, Star could only look at the ceiling. It’s not like she didn’t understand her parents and where they were coming from, she already got an idea about how hard it must be to have something horrible happen to your kid and not being able to do anything about when she broke the news to Mr. and Mrs. Diaz back on Earth. It was that they didn’t know how much Marco meant to her now. But that problem sure had an easy fix, she just needed to open up and say they were a couple now. It wasn’t about sitting down and hearing her parents pissed about her choice of a boyfriend anymore, or worrying about being separated. Even her previous worry about being left out for this very reason was out the window now that it seemed they were already thinking about leaving her off the hook for the rest of this matter. So tomorrow was it, she is going to come out clean about their relationship and hope they understand.

That sure was easier said than done. Not like there weren’t any good opportunities to talk about it before the celebrations started, but Star couldn’t gather the courage to do so, and her time was running out. Moon decided to leave the interrogation for later, not helped by the fact that she was still busy with the preparations for Song Day. It was something they needed to get on with so they could move to more serious matters.

The Magic High Council arrived on time and the Queen and King received them cheerfully. Moon contacted them beforehand to informed them of the trouble, keeping some information hidden for when they sat down and talk. She basically told them ‘Toffee is back and more dangerous than before.’

Star arrived a bit late and almost missed the beginning of the song as she got busy getting ready for the event and also thinking about the talk she will have after everything was done. It was either after Song Day was done and before her mom got the Commission together to discuss a plan or never. The princess sat beside her mother, waved hello at Hekapoo and Rhombulus, and got ready to hear a stupid song about her. She was curious about how it turned out, not like they ever sat down and talked like Ruberiot wanted, and it’s not like that huge fight showed any side of her that wasn’t her violent one.

So out came Ruberiot, sitting on a little stool and with his lute ready. The little Star marionette came down, it started with a little rundown of her physical appearance and her personality, everything that was expected. Star couldn’t help but slink on her chair in boredom. But everything changed when another marionette came down, one that looked early similar to Marco, with the red hoodie and all, this sure caught Star’s attention. Ruberiot talked a bit about Marco, or more like, undermined him as a normal boy from Earth with nothing spectacular in his life. And to Star’s surprised, he began singing about their friendship together.

The audience thought this was about the princess being so cheerful and noble that her personality can touch even those outside of royalty, a good way to humanize their princess, mewninaize? Whatever. It would have been acceptable to go on like this but this wasn’t all, far from it.

Star’s eyes were already glued to the stage and her ears were delighted by the music she was hearing, Ruberiot sure was a talented musician. But what really touched her heart was when the romantic tones started. He sang to the audience about them growing to more than friends and falling in love. Everybody thought this song took an unexpected turn but were still reacting to the sweet love story unfolding in front of their eyes. But all of this sure meant something different to Star. She was able to piece together that Marco must have spoken with Ruberiot and they both pieced together this love song for her. She was now hearing Marco’s feelings and thoughts about her, sure some parts were cut out or exaggerated, but all the feeling was there.

The princess couldn’t take it anymore and run out of there. Too bad, she was going to miss the part about Toffee taking over Marco’s body and how he ran away with both the book and Glossarick. Star ran out and tripped on the hallway, unable to contain her tears anymore. She realized what was bothering her so much since yesterday. It wasn’t that Marco was now possessed and she didn’t even know where he was now, well, not just that. Star could only kneel on the ground and keep crying. Sobbing so hard that only her parents hugging her together were able to snap her out of it.

Star took a look around the room and saw the rest of the Magic High Commission standing around looking worried, she could also hear some cries of panic coming from outside. But not even with all those people seeing her cry did she stopped sobbing. “Mom… Dad… It’s my fault…” Star hugged her parents back and took some breaths to continue. “If… If I hadn’t left him alone… None of that would have happened to him.”

“It’s not your fault, sweetie. You can’t blame yourself for something like this.” River tried to calm his daughter down. It didn’t matter that all the kingdom just heard the worst news possible.

Still in between sobs and tears. “I lost Marco and Glossarick, I’m a huge failure… No wonder you don’t want my help.”

Moon broke the hug and faced Star. “You’re not a failure, you’re my daughter and I should be the one apologizing, I didn’t know how much he means to you. I’m sorry all of this happened.” The three of them stood up, with Moon helping Star stand up.

The first one of the Commission to approach Star was Hekapoo. She gave Star a quick hug and placed one hand on her shoulder. “C’mon, Star, you need to keep it together. I know Marco and he would never blame you for what happened, you shouldn’t do it either. Think about him, he needs all of our help now.” Hekapoo reached out and cleaned those new tears that appeared on Star’s eyes and then shot a warm smile at the girl.

Next was Rhombulus. He hugged Star like Hekapoo before him and spoke up. “Remember what I told you, Star, You can’t let fear ruin your relationship. I promise we will bring him back.” Star’s mood sure began to rise after those two little pep talks from her friends.

Lastly, Lekmet approached the group, cleared his throat, and opened up his mouth to speak. “Baaa.” Star could only stare in confusion, but Rhombulus gave a well-needed translation. “He says you can count on him.” And Star smiled there.

So weird, she went from being devastated to happy and determinate. Star now has all the support from friends and family. Yes, Marco was still in danger, but this was the first time since yesterday that she truly felt that everything was going to be alright. She was so scared of coming out about her relationship and was now feeling silly about it. It turned out that this was the best step all along.

It was Hekapoo that noticed that someone was missing. She took a look behind her and saw the last member of the Commission a few steps back. “Omnitraxus, come here and help us cheer the girl up.” It took her a few seconds to remember that wasn’t going to happen. She totally forgot that they need to wheel him around when he is in that crystal ball.

As the girl moved to wheel him to the group. “Wait, Hekapoo, step back!” But his warning came a little too late. Toffee fell down from the shadows, taking Hekapoo by surprise and pressing his right hand onto her face. What happened next went by so fast, Toffee’s wand glow, a flow of green energy went from the girl to him, and Hekapoo’s eyes turned into black voids. All of them stared at him in shocked surprise and Toffee missed no time pushing Omnitraxus' crystal ball to the end of the hallway.

They all sprout into action after that, with the exception of Star and Lekmet. Star found herself unable to harm Marco and Lekmet approached Hekapoo. Rhombulus was quick to try and freeze Toffee, but his target was moving so fast that he missed all his shots. Moon tried to circle around him but that was useless too, Toffee was able to move up and down the ceiling and walls with such freedom and he was still using the shadows to hide his movements as much as possible. Even King River was unable to pin him down every time he had to.

Once Lekmet was able to revive Hekapoo, with some strain hitting his body afterward, it was the girl that realized what was going on with Toffee. She called in the clones and with their help, it was easier to cut Toffee’s way by attacking from several angles. They finally were able to keep him on the ground, locking hands in a power struggle. Hekapoo saw Rhombulus and King River go for the pin and quickly yelled at them. “Don’t come any closer, he is going to…” But Toffee freed his left hand and shot one of Marco’s chains around the two of them, wrapping them tightly and pulling them towards himself making Hekapoo dodge out of the way, as to not get hit by the improvised wrecking ball. Toffee then used the momentum to knock King River out with one punch to the face. That hit made both Rhombulus and River hit the floor and Toffee took the chance to take all of the magic energy from Rhombulus.

Moon approached Hekapoo and asked. “How is he so fast?!” He was inside the body of a teenager and hasn’t used the magic wand at all. After she asked that, Toffee stepped into the light and revealed that he wasn’t wearing the red hoodie Marco wore when he took over his mind. He was wearing Marco’s bounty hunter clothes and gear, he even had Marco’s sword strapped to his side.

“I made those clothes, they are designed to protect the user and grant him faster moves.” Hekapoo prepared her scissors for the fight and spoke once again. “We need to drive him away from Rhombulus so that Lekmet can rise him, he is our only chance to take him out with minimum damage to Marco.”

The first part of the plan was the easiest one. Hekapoo and Moon were able to attract his attention with a combination of hand to hand combat and long distance magic attacks. Hekapoo was the perfect counter to Toffee’s hit and run strategy. Not only did the clones got in the way every time he dodged, but she was able to drive him into Moon’s line of fire for extra damage. Rhombulus rise up fairly quick, with Lekmet looking more drained now, but decided to keep his distance, waiting for the perfect shot.

In between their close quarter fight, Toffee spoke. “You sure have no qualms about hurting your ex.” The two of them were fighting scissors to sword and he was getting overwhelmed by the girl’s clones.

But Hekapoo didn’t let him get under her skin. She answered back once they locked weapons. “It sure must be difficult wielding that sword in your off hand.” He needed to keep his right hand free, leaving his left hand to use the weapon. “I know Marco’s style better than you. I know his equipment and how he moves. You’ll never beat me using his body.” Hekapoo pushed him back and hit him on the side of the armored jacket, just in between the pieces of padding and plates. That punch that went past his only armor was able to knock him back to the wall. Toffee regained his senses fairly quick and saw Rhombulus taking aim. He threw his sword at the crystal man before he could fire properly, hitting him on the head and making the blast missed the torso. But the blast still hit Toffee’s left arm, trapping him to the wall.

Hekapoo couldn’t wait for Rhombulus to recover and ran forwards to knock Toffee unconscious. But before she could land her attack, Toffee looked up and met her eye to eye. “Wait, Hekapoo, don’t hurt me!” It was Marco, no more green eyes, just his face full of terror.

“Marco?” The girl stopped herself in front of him and quickly regret it. Toffee’s green eyes came back as soon as she had stopped at arm’s reach. Just like it happened before, Toffee took all of the magic energy from her and Hekapoo’s lifeless body fell to the ground.

“Thought I won’t be able to beat you using the boy’s body.” He then broke himself free just in time to avoid another one of Moon’s blasts and land beside the still recovering Rhombulus. He dispatched him fairly quickly like before and picked up the sword he threw. “Is this the best you can do? I haven’t even used magic.” But that was about to change. He was about to face off against Queen Moon one on one, but Omnitraxus Prime appeared rising from the ground, taking him completely by surprise.

Omnitraxus stood between of Toffee and Moon. “You don’t want to do that, little man!” He stood tall to intimidate him.

Toffee knew not to put all his faith in his magic wand after it failed to work yesterday, it could happen again without notice. That’s the reason he made the trip back to Earth in order to take Marco’s equipment. And the surprise attack on the Commission came to be because he knew he couldn’t let them organize and hunt him down now that he couldn’t trust his magic. It sure surprised him that he managed to land a body with such combat experience, Ludo wouldn’t be able to hold his ground without magic, at all. 

But this was an opponent that he wouldn’t be able to dispatch using normal ways, that’s part of the reason he attacked during Song Day, he knew Omnitraxus wouldn’t be here physically. Nonetheless, he had no other choice now. He gathered magic energy on the palm of his hand and was ready to risk it all on that blast.

To everybody's surprise, Toffee was able to shot Omnitraxus down with just one blast. He couldn’t help but laugh now that his wand was working once again. After absorbing Omnitraxus magic, he talked to Moon, aiming his hand at her. “Now, Moon, it’s just you and me. It sure has been a long time.”

Moon tried blasting him off, but Toffee counterattacked with a magic blast of his own that went past her own magic and landed a direct hit., sending the queen flying backward As Toffee got ready to shoot again. “NO!” The two of them gave their attention to Star, she was fed up with the fear and staring from the sidelines. The princess shot blast after blast at Toffee, and he could only dodge. “If somebody is going to defeat you, it’s going to be me!” She was shooting so many blasts by the second that Toffee couldn’t dodge anymore and got knocked down.

Once Toffee was able to recover, he charged energy into his hand and aimed it at the princess. “Good to know you don’t care about the boy anymore.” And he shot his magic at Star, but nothing came out, just like yesterday. Before he could even get confused, Queen Moon knocked him down with a magic attack from behind. The force of the blast threw him at the now revived Hekapoo, weird, he couldn’t see Lekmet around anymore. Hekapoo hit him in the face several times, in order to stun him, and knocked him to the middle of the room. Now Toffee was surrounded by Moon, Star, and Hekapoo. “And I thought you’ll go easy on poor Marco. It’s going to break his heart when he hears how easy you threw him under the bus.”

Star answered. “You shouldn’t worry about it. You’ll be long gone when he wakes up.” She was ready to knock him out in the most delicate way possible.

But Toffee wasn’t ready to lose. “Sorry, but I’m not ready to part ways with my new friend.” He pulled out a little flask of blue liquid and drank it in one go. “I’ll see you again soon, very soon.” And he began to breathe fire in a circle around him. The fire was big enough to blind his attackers and making them step back. Except for Hekapoo, she jumped inside the fire but she was too late, Toffee already made his exit with Marco’s scissors. She could only see the portal closing on the floor.

Moon and Star made quick work of the fire and the three of them were left to recover their breath. Star ran to make sure his dad was fine and Moon approached Hekapoo. “Where is Lekmet?”

Hekapoo looked saddened and answered. “When I woke up he was gone.” She signaled at the horn covered in dust on the floor. “His body couldn’t take it.” The two of them kneeled down and gathered all of his remains inside the horn.

“Dad, are you alright?” Star tried waking River up with some light shakes.

He woke up and rubbed his black eye. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. How are you and your mother, sweetie?”

“We are fine and good. He barely touched us.” Star helped him stand up. “But the Commission…” They looked around and saw the bodies of Rhombulus and Omnitraxus, all drained up of all their magic energy.

Once they were able to gather their fallen friends, Moon and Star changed to more comfortable attire, and together with Hekapoo, they began to brainstorm. “First thing we should do is go to the Sanctuary.” Moon spoke up, knowing strength in numbers was their best option now.

“He is running away with his tail between his legs. We need to push forward while we still have the chance.” This was the best option for Hekapoo, considering everything they just saw today. “What do you think, Star?”

This sure surprised the princess and they noticed it. “Sweetie, you saw what happened out there. For some reason, he couldn’t shoot you down with his magic.” Moon tried explaining it to her. “You told me it happened before on Earth.”

This still confused her, she wasn’t able to piece it together before but it sure made sense to her. “Is it really so difficult to believe? Marco must still have control, and he would never hurt you.” Hekapoo added to Moon’s words. They were going to need Star’s help now more than ever.

Now that she knew this, Star was sure about what to do next. “If that’s true, then we should go after him.”

But Moon wasn’t going to drop the topic. “You two saw how easy he was able to dispatch us without magic. We need to…”

And Hekapoo interrupted. “What we need is to stop Toffee before he does anything worse.”

“C’mon, Mom, we can’t let him use Marco’s body like that.”

“You two are forgetting that we don’t even know where he is hiding and that he has Glossarick. We should gather forces not throw the only people that can stop him into the grinder.” This seemed to be an endless argument, but in came King River and that at least put a pause to it. “How are the people?”

King River took the time to address the people about the new threat as to not arise more panic. “Agitated, but I handle it as best I could.” He embraced his wife. “Have you told Star about it?”

“Told me about what?” Star asked, not wanting to be left out of anything important.

And Moon knew better than to keep it a secret anymore. If they were all going to fight Toffee, it was better Star knew this story. “Star, this isn’t the first time we deal with Toffee. It happened when I was a teenager…”

Star stayed put and heard the story of how her mother became queen after Toffee killed the previous one, along with how she defeated him in that time. Hekapoo and King River provided several details and supported Moon’s story. They needed to make sure the girl understood the threat they were facing and how old it has been haunting them. It did put everything else into perspective for Star. Why her mom didn’t want her to get involved into all of this and why she grew more supportive once she heard about Marco being her boyfriend. It was sweet, in some parts, knowing how much her mother cared about her and how much trust she placed on her at the moment. Once she was done with her story, they all gave Star some time to absorb all the information she was given.

“I understand, mom, and I’m sorry but I still think we should go after Toffee first of all.” Moon could only look down. “Look, let me speak to Ludo on my own.” And that sure won her a serious look from Moon. “I know I blew up before, but I’m sure I can get him to talk. Would you at least consider our idea if I get you the location?”

Moon let out a big sigh and said. “Alright, I’m trusting you to get this vital information. Are you sure you can do it?” She received only a determined look from Star. “I’ll let the guard know you’re coming.”

Star got fired up and was about to run out of the room, but Hekapoo stopped her. “And I’m going with you.” Star gave her a puzzled look and she spoke up. “You’ll need my help on the interrogation, believe me.” The princess just accepted it and both girls went to the dungeons. A little late now, but the sooner they get that information the better. All that and Hekapoo wanted to have a private talk with Star. She waited till she saw no more guards and asked. “Tell me, how long have you and Marco been together?”

That sure took Star by surprise, but only for a second before she remembered the reason behind that question. “A couple of weeks, not much really.”

Hekapoo smiled right there. “Good for you two.” She then dropped the smile and stopped Star. “Listen, I know how hard it must be for you to fight Toffee right now. Believe me, it’s hard for me too. But if you want to go with us, you can’t freeze like you did back there.” Star didn’t say anything, she just stared at the ground with a sad look on her face. “Come here.” Hekapoo brought her closer and they hugged. “I promise you we will bring him back.”

“I know we will. I just hope he isn’t hurt after all of this.” Star spoke unto Hekapoo’s ear.

Hekapoo couldn’t contain her words right now. “I’m glad he has someone like you.” Not even she knew why she said that. But as soon as she said it, Hekapoo felt like a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders. They separated and continue on their way. It wasn’t long till they found themselves inside of Ludo’s cell.

Star knew what to do in order to make him comply, she woke him up and left the gag on just so she could talk freely. “Listen to me Ludo. Toffee just attacked the Magic High Commission using Marco’s body. That makes it clear, he has been inside of your wand and controlling you since day one.” Star could see that Ludo and herself were no different on this matter, and she also knew how much relieved she felt once her parents told the truth. Maybe doing the same will help them get Ludo on their side. “You must have felt something weird with it.” She approached and ungagged him.

“Alright, Toffee is back, but what do you want with me?” He was still busy absorbing all this new information.

“Toffee ran away after our fight. You must have an idea of where he may have gone.” He did that’s for sure, Star knew it.

But Ludo still needed more to be willing to help them. “I could tell you about my hideout, pretty sure he has nowhere else to hide. But you have to promise me to take me with you!” He wanted to face Toffee himself, to look with his own eyes if all of this was indeed true. “I’ll just keep that information till you’re ready to go after him.” Lude felt so proud, like he just one up the princess.

Star shared a look with Hekapoo and the girl accepted the request. “Deal. But you stay here till then.” Before Ludo could argue back, Star put the gag back on and left the cell with Hekapoo. Once they began to make their way back upstairs. “You think my mom will be fine with this?”

The girl had to take some seconds to think about it. It was Ludo without magic and he will have the three of them looking after him. “I’m sure we can handle it, don’t worry about it.” She then placed a helping hand on Star’s shoulder. “You did great in there. You made a risky bet and it paid up.” More like, she put her faith on a person that didn’t deserve it, but that was just a way to made it sound better for the princess. “Let’s go up and plan things out with Queen Moon.” This sure promised to be a long night for all of them.

On another side of Mewni, morning came fairly quick, and Marco awoke with it, fully panicked. He looked around and found himself in an unfamiliar place. A building made of stone and he was resting on a huge bed, the place looked old but it was obvious it has been inhabited recently. Even with a headache, and the soreness on his limbs, he needed to investigate the place and find out where he was. But as soon as he threw the blankets away. “WHAT THE HELL?!?!” Marco was surprised at the sight of the lizard hand he found in bed.

Marco crawled away in shock and missed the moment he ran out of bed to crawl and promptly fell to the ground. But that didn’t stop the lizard hand from following him. He was able to take a better look at the hand and realized that was his own hand, he even touched it and moved the fingers around to make sure. Some flashbacks about last night appeared in his head, just some pieces but nothing complete, and he started to panic. “I need to find somebody.” He took a look around and found both his normal clothes and the bounty hunter gear by the footing of the bed.

“Aw crap.” He checked the box with his tonics and found some of them were missing. This coupled with the fact that he blacked out for several hours didn’t ease his mind. It all told him that something bad must have happened where he needed to use his gear, he could only hope he wasn’t on the wrong side of that fight. All this was too much for the boy. He grabbed his red hoodie, but before he could use his scissors to go home, a familiar voice spoke close to him.

Walking outside to the balcony revealed Glossarick cooking something in a campfire. The blue man had the spell book near him and didn’t look panicked at all. “Hello, Marco! You’re finally awake.”

The boy hid his right hand in his pocket and approached him. “Glossarick, where are we?”

“We are in Mewni, my boy. Here, have some soup.” He tried to pass a spoonful of soup, but Marco rejected it.

“I’m not in the mood for your games! The last thing I remember was Ludo trying to take the book back on Earth. What happened?” Marco was begging for answers more like he was angry at the man.

The blue man stopped stirring his cauldron and answered. “Oh, Marco. That happened days ago. You sure aren’t quick on the update.” Marco was trying hard to avoid screaming in frustration. “Since then, you brought me to this old monster temple, fought the Magic High Commission, and you took your time coming back last night after that.” He then took the spoon out to taste his soup.

Marco tried to process all the information he just received. “But I don’t remember any of it?” He then remembered something else. “What about Song Day? And Star? Is she alright?”

“I’ll be honest with you. You went out to fight the Commission all decked out and while they were gathering during Song Day, and yes, Star was with them when you attacked.” And Marco began to have a panic attack.

“Just… what’s going on with me… tell me… please.” He was trying to fight back tears now. If was obvious that Star was there and he couldn’t bear the thought of him hurting her in his blackout.

Glossarick let the cauldron on the fire and approached him. “I think you already know.” He signaled to the hand Marco was hiding. Marco showed his hand to him in hopes of getting an answer. “Look at the palm of the hand, tell me what it reminds you of.” He tracked his fingers along the cleaved crystal.

It was easy for Marco to put the pieces together. “It’s Ludo’s wand, I have his magic wand attached to my hand.” At least he has some answers now, none that satisfy him, but answers nonetheless. He quickly got an idea on what to do next. “The book!” He ran towards the spell book by the campfire and opened it up. “You told me before, if I have a magic wand you will have to teach me magic! We just need to find a spell that’ll help us out.” He tried finding something but the spellbook closed up on his face. “What?!” Marco wasn’t in the mood for this, he tried it again and again but nothing could keep the spell book open and cooperative long enough for him to find something useful. “WHY?!” He screamed at the blue man.

Glossarick understood how frustrated this was for the teenager and spoke up. “Because that isn’t your book, Marco. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing you can do.”

This was the point where Marco couldn’t take it anymore. He began punching the closed spell book with his hands and scream in anger. Why was this happening to him? He was in a hopeless situation and he couldn’t get out of it. While his eyes were full of tears and groaned in frustration about all of this, he noticed the bracelets he bought from Quest Buy. That alone was able to snap him back to reality.

While Glossarick was busy with his soup, giving his back to Marco, he took his hoodie off and wrapped around his right forearm. He placed his right-hand flat on the ground and summoned a hatchet from his left bracelet. Marco then took a swing at the lizard hand, cutting the thumb off. Marco screamed in pain so loud that it caught Glossarick’s attention. “What are you doing Marco?!” The boy didn’t answer him.

That was one finger down, Marco went back to business and cut the rest of the fingers off. He did it fast and with no pause in between the cuts. He was ready to take the pain and do what was necessary. But it all proved itself to be useless, as soon as Marco took a look, the fingers he cut off had grown back. “That won’t work either. That’s a lizard hand you’re dealing with.” Glossarick informed him.

Marco did some quick thinking and spoke up. “Well… that means I just have to cut further up!” He placed his whole arm up to the elbow flat to the ground and took aim a few inches below his right elbow, just to be sure. But before he could drop the blade to his arm, Glossarick caught it with both hands. Marco tried to struggle the hatchet away from his hands. “Let me go! If you won’t help me I have to do it myself!”

Glossarick slapped him and waited for Marco to calm down and let the hatchet down before speaking up. “Marco, I know you’re scared and angry, and hungry. But you can’t go around chopping off limbs whenever you’re feeling like that.” The teenager just looked away, not wanting to argue right now. Marco was about to go over the edge, Glossarick knew it, all this situation, it can’t be easy for him to handle no mattered how mature the boy was. Maybe this time, just this one time, he could drop the messing around and be honest. Glossarick placed a supportive hand on Marco’s shoulder and said. “C’mon, Marco, have some faith on Star.”

That confused Marco, to bring her up out of nowhere. “What are you talking about?”

“Are you telling me that you don’t think Star is out there looking for you? You know, like when we were lost together.” He let him go and approached the cauldron. “So just relax and wait for Star to come to us, she and Queen Moon should be able to handle your situation.”

Marco knew Glossarick was talking out of his ass, just trying to give him some false hope. Well, not all of it, he couldn’t help but trust that Star was moving heaven and earth to find him. He knows how much Star loves him, and he sure as hell loves her just as much, if not even more. He will go see her right now, he still had his scissors, but he couldn't see her like this without risking him losing control again. Right now, he could only trust Star. After having that little thought Marco stood by the cauldron and took a spoonful of soup. It was after Marco had filled himself with soup that he asked. “Why did you make so much soup anyway? It’s only the two of us.”

Glossarick just answered. “I just want to have it ready for later.”

Marco gave him a puzzled look. “Why? What's going to happen…” Before he could continue, Marco’s eyes rolled to the back of his face and they began to glow green.

Toffee shot Glossarick a sour expression. “So, you managed to win the boy to your side.”

The blue man continued seasoning his soup and answered. “I don’t have a side, Toffee. And don’t underestimate Marco, believing in Star was all his part.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter really. It just means I have to move on without him.” He turned around and stared at the Butterfly Castle.

“Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that. Isn’t your whole plan, like, ruined?” He spoke without looking up, just focusing on his cauldron. “You weren’t able to defeat the all of the Magic High Commission, Marco doesn’t let you use magic against Star, which even I find weird, and when you lost Ludo you lost your army.”

Toffee approached the spell book and began reading some of the pages. “Your point being?”

Glossarick let the soup rest in the fire and approached Toffee. “Even if you finish your business inside the wand, there are a lot of people that can still stop you.”

Suddenly, Toffee closed the book and approached the nearby edge, he took a good look at the woods, like he was trying to look for something. “First of all, you sure have no vision, at all. Secondly, about me not having an army…” Like they were being prompted, some wolves began howling at the distance. “I think I’ll make do.” All that poking around Marco’s memories had to pay at some point. “And the issue with Star? I just realized I have been going at it the wrong way.” If experience has taught him, he should let Marco handle the princess himself. “I’ll leave you to your soup, I have some preparations to do.”

Glossarick shrugged as Toffee walked away. “Fine by me. Star is going to need this very soon.” But Toffee paid him no mind as he walked away, he had some guest that needed to be welcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought how to justify Star and Moon being so passive during the fight and then I remembered that during Song Day they were wearing gala dresses. Not very comfortable to fight in those.
> 
> Remeber that this is happening a few days earlier than in canon. I'm sure Toffee's destruction of magic isn't as advanced.
> 
> Also, why did nobody told me I have been writing Hekapoo's name wrong this whole time?! I found out just as the last chapter was posted and I was genuinely surprised nobody corrected me after all this time.


	13. Toffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter while I work on the finale.

Marco and Hekapoo were inside the herbalist’s office waiting for her to bring something from the back. They joined this bounty hunters guild a short while ago and were doing fine by themselves, but Marco insisted on coming here and look around. They didn’t have wait long before the herbalist came back with a tiny wooden box in her arms. “Here they are, the standard tonics used by the guys here.” She placed the box on the counter and took out some bottles to show the two. “These red ones will enhance your strength. The green ones will make you faster. And these little white ones will heal you up if you take too many tonics at the time.”

Ok, that needs to be addressed. “Are they dangerous?” Asked Marco.

“If you were to take one, wait for the effects to pass normally, and then hold on for another hour or so to take another one, then no. They will just make you feel sick afterward but that’s about it. They are magic potions but highly unstable, and the ingredients used to make them can be extremely toxic in large doses.” She should know, she is the one that brews them. “But imagine if you take a green one to go faster, but you also want to hit hard, so you take the red one. You’re mixing them together inside your stomach making the side effects stronger and unpredictable. That’s why you need to drink the clear one as fast as possible or you can end up incapacitated for the rest of the battle, or worse.”

That was enough for Hekapoo, she needed to intervene. “Are you sure you want to do this, Marco?” The boy was looking more and more into the talk, Hekapoo couldn’t determine if it was because of fear or growing interest. “We are fine without them.”

Marco let out a big sigh and answered. “You are fine without them.” He turned around and talked to her face to face. “I can’t help but feel like I’m just in the way every time we fight together.” It was a growing problem he had noticed for a while now, something that never happened when he fights alongside Star. “It’s just… you go out of your way to come with me into these adventures, I don’t want to be a burden to you.”

“You’re not, far from it.” She then placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. “And I’m having a ton of fun with you no matter how you fight. So if you’re doing this, be sure you are not doing it for me.”

After taking some minutes to think about her words. “Would you still watch my back even if I buy them?”

Taken aback at that question. “You know I will. I promise you, Marco, that I will always be there when you need help.”

After getting his answer, Marco threw a huge smile. “Then I have nothing to worry about.” And Hekapoo finally knew what he was trying to say. Now speaking directly to the herbalist. "Do you have more of them, or just this two?" The girl began showing him more of the potions in stock, it's never bad to have variety.

Hekapoo couldn’t help but smile at Marco's enthusiasm. They sure had grown tight as friends these last couple of weeks. But there was another thing she has noticed during those weeks, mainly the fact that Marco was growing more and more ‘interested’ in her. That, honestly, didn’t bother her, not like she was ready to reciprocate his feelings, yet, but that wasn’t getting in the way of their adventures and it was cute to see the boy so obviously falling for her, even if she wasn’t doing anything to get his attention. With all that in mind, she couldn’t avoid feeling overprotective of the teenager. That promise was one she was determined to keep and never break.

It didn’t take long for her to own up to that promise. It was during a simple infiltration and retrieve mission where they needed to split for a short while. Marco ended circling around the target’s hideout and stumbled into a tough fight all by himself. Hekapoo couldn’t catch up till it was too late and Marco had already ended his fight using his tonics, but the boy forgot to bring the antidote. Even to this date, she could remember the state she found him on the ground. With Marco suffering a strong seizure and unable to breathe on his own. Her memories skip to them back to the guild with the herbalist, and Marco being rushed to the back of the store. Marco ended up alright, obviously, but the incident sure hit them hard.

It took a while for Marco to tackled the bounties again, and even after that, it took more for him to pick up the tonics again. Hekapoo began working on Marco’s hunter equipment, always looking for the best materials to use and going to Marco for feedback. It was obvious she couldn’t prevent him from using the potions, especially if he himself didn’t want to stop using them, but she could at least give him more protection that could help him survive out there without needing her constant vigilance.

And now Toffee was using her creations and friend to do his bidding. “Hekapoo?” That was Star snapping her out of her little flashback.

Not even she herself knew why she decided to reminisce at this specific moment. “I’m alright.” Right now they were at the entrance of a dense forest, fully decked on camping equipment, with Ludo and two of his minions chained up. “What were you saying?”

“I said we should unchain them already.” She, her mother, and Hekapoo talked about this all night yesterday. Moon will go to Sanctuary and revive the fallen members of the Magic Commission while Star and Hekapoo look for Toffee’s hideout with the help of Ludo. They were told not to engage in a fight till Moon arrived with reinforcements, finding the hideout was good enough.

“Ok, then, why did we bring the spider again?” Hekapoo was still getting over the surprise she felt at seeing their two extra prisoners marching alongside them.

It was Ludo that spoke up. “Because I have short legs and need someone to carry me around.”

Fair enough. “And why did we brought the eagle then?”

“Because the hideout is near the mountains and we are going to need her to scout the place!” Spoke Ludo, again, now eager to get out of those chains.

Again, fair enough, not like she couldn’t deal with the three of them on her own. Hekapoo unchained the prisoners and they all stretched before getting in position.

Ludo climbed on top of his spider and the eagle flew up on the sky to scout ahead. “Alright then, onward!” He exclaimed, pointing forward and waiting for the spider to comply. To his surprise, the spider picked up a normal pace. “Alright, take your time, it’s a long way home.” And they happily made their way forward.

Now with Hekapoo and Star following behind. “Let’s just hope we find Marco before something bad happens.” That sounded a bit morbid, with the implication that sentence carried, but Hekapoo didn’t mean it that way. Star, however, couldn’t help but feel nervous after hearing her words. “Don’t worry, Star, we will find him.” And she noticed how her words didn’t appease the princess. “I can assure you, Marco himself will be singing your song by this time tomorrow.” And she laughed at her teasing.

Star could only make a sour face and answer. “Don’t remind me of that.” She never actually got the chance to be embarrassed at that song. “Can’t believe all the kingdom know about us.”

Hekapoo just shrugged. “I thought it was cute. Leave it to Marco to do something like that.” Although she was sure Marco will do it in a more private matter. But that was mostly the songstrel fault.

And this was another thing Star never had the chance to think about. “Honestly, I thought you will give me a harder time.” With Marco being her ex and all. But as soon as she said that, she realized this may not be the best time to talk about it.

“Well… I was surprised hearing you were together, but I was never against him finding someone else.” She was hoping for him to do that. To get over her and find someone that could really be there for him. Besides, she had plenty of time to get over him, but not enough to get over the regret of that breakup, she could have tackled it better in hindsight. “And, you two actually make a cute couple. I’m sure he is happy with you.”

After giving her a warm smile, Star said. “Thanks, I appreciated… I’m sure he will be happy to hear that you're here too.” She didn’t even know what else to say, but she also knew that the current predicament not only affected her. Marco has other people in his life that worry about him.

Hekapoo only answered with a smile and they picked up the pace, their little talk distracted them too much already. Their walk around the forest was a long and tired one, they could see the mountains getting closer as time passed but before they needed to hike their way to the hideout, they sat down to rest in front of the entrance to a mountain pass. Just a few minutes to lay their bags down and rest as every second was precious.

“Ludo, I never asked, why did you decide to come with us?” Star asked. Not only was he completely defenseless without his magic, there was no chance for him to escape with the two of them keeping an eye on him.

“Why?! Because I want my wand back!” Well, that wasn’t a good enough reason for him to risk his life. “And when I have it back in my hands, I’m going to used it to teach Toffee a lesson about messing with my head.” Ok, that explains it, Ludo was vindictive enough to focus solely on revenge.

“Yeah, but, how are you…” But before she could ask the logical question, that being, how is he going to put Toffee in his place if he was inside the wand, Hekapoo covered the princess’ mouth to stop her from speaking.

Now whispering on Star’s ear. “Let him have that, it gives us his compliance and that’s all we need.” Star granted her that point and said nothing else. They made sure to enjoy those little minutes of rest, there won’t be any further up the mountain. 

As the girls were talking amongst themselves, and Ludo was talking with his minions about how he was going to kick Toffee’s ass, the party’s attention was caught by some weird noises coming from their luggage. The girls got up to investigate, those were mostly their things and found a white wolf trying to steal their food. Hekapoo tried to shoo it away, but it quickly began barking at the two, and it just wouldn’t stop. “Go away doggy, we have no food for you.” Hekapoo was about to hit the animal but Star approached.

“He is just hungry. Let him have some of it.” She approached the backpack and took out some of the dry meat kept inside. “Here it is, but you promise us to leave us alone.” The wolf took the meat and ate it happily. It quickly latched onto Star, following her around the camp, like he wanted more food.

“Great, now he won’t leave us alone.” Spoke Hekapoo, she took a look around to see if more wolves were nearby, but the forest was so dense she couldn’t see anything.

“I’m sure he will leave us alone once we start our hike.” Star leaned down to pet the wolf, but the animal circled around her and placed his snout inside her pocket. Star panicked at that and tried to push him away. “No! I don’t have any food in there, just my…” And the wolf took out her magic wand, holding it in his mouth. “Alright, doggy, give it back and I’ll give you…” But the wolf spun around and leg it out of there with Star’s wand. “Not this again!” The princess ran behind the animal trying to retrieve her wand.

“Star, wait!” Hekapoo ran behind the princess, trying to keep her in sight, but before she could leave their camp. “You stay here and don’t get any funny ideas.” She spoke to Ludo directly. She could have stayed with him and wait for Star to come back, but Toffee could be lurking around and couldn’t leave Star defenseless. And, honestly, leaving Ludo here working as a decoy will work better for them.

As soon as Hekapoo was out of sight, Ludo approached the backpacks and pulled out some of the food. Just to have her hand swat away by one of Hekapoo’s clones. “Why?! I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast!” But he received no answer from the clone.

Star was so focused on getting her wand back that she wasn’t paying that much attention at the forest around her, getting lost without even noticing. The white wolf ran without hesitation and from time to time looked back at the princess to make sure she was still there. It never occurred to Star that she was getting stirred into a specific place.

Trying to catch up to Star, Hekapoo ran as fast as she could, but she lost sight of Star few minutes after entering the forest. She even sent out some clones to help her find Star, but the forest was so confusing that it didn’t help. But her luck was quickly changing, or so she thought, once she got a glimpse of the white wolf running in between some of the trees. Great, Star couldn’t be far. She decided to catch the wolf and let Star come to her. She used her clones to stir the wolf to where she wanted and block his path. In the end, she managed to drive the wolf to a little clearing in the forest.

The white wolf sat in the middle of the clearing and waited for Hekapoo to catch him. The girl approached from behind and turned the wolf around. Only to reveal that he wasn’t carrying Star’s wand. The wolf broke free of her grip and ran into the forest line. Hekapoo would have pursued after him, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of having walked into a trap. Her suspicions proved to be true once she heard howling and barking coming from within the trees. Out came an army of wolves surrounding the girl, all of them showing teeth and getting closer to her.

Heckapoo readied her scissors and prepared to fight. “Alright then, if this is what Toffee is using for an army, I can deal with you easily.” She was confident that this will be a short fight. Suddenly, the earth began to shake and coming out of the forest, knocking some trees over as they made their entrance, came four giant, brown wolves. All of them bigger than elephants and with green glowing eyes. 

Magic enhanced animals that create mighty battle beasts. It was obvious that Toffee planned this little trap, so it stood to reason that he must be nearby, watching. Hekapoo decided she couldn’t bring Star to the middle of this but she could at least keep the army in one place till reinforcements arrived. She created a circle with her clones and stared at the wolves fully determined. “Bring it on!”

Now back with Star, she finally was able to catch the wolf and was wrestling the wand from him. The wolf sure had a strong grip, but Star was able to snatch it out of his teeth after some minutes. But as soon as she did that, she realized she was surrounded by white wolves. These ones were bigger, big enough for her to ride like warnicorns, but didn’t look threatening at all, they just stood there looking directly at her. One of them approached Star and excused the little wolf out. "I brought her here like you said, papa." The small wolf that snatched the wand spoke.

Now, Star sure was confused at all of this. The big one took a quick sniff at her and said. “You did good, son. She is the one, boys!” The rest of the wolves sat down and Star was even more confused now. “The boss wants to speak with you. He told us to keep you in place once we found you.”

"Wait, ‘the boss’? Are you talking about Marco? Where is he?!” Star approached him, waiting for answers.

“I don’t know where he is, I only know he is watching us. He should be on his way here.”

“Then we should bring Hekapoo along, go get her.” She knew better than to face Toffee alone.

“The boss told us only you get to see him. Nobody else gets to meet with him.” He spoke with a normal tone of voice, he was just following orders and it was clear he didn’t want to harm the girl.

Star noticed this and knew how horrible this idea was, but she couldn’t help it at the moment. “How long are we going to be waiting?”

“He told us he needed to deal with something first and he will come pick you up afterward.” And he lay down on the ground, but still close to the princess in case she tried to escape.

She accepted this and sat down to wait for Toffee to appear. “You met with Marco, right? How is he?” At least she could talk with someone that has seen him recently.

“He is… weird. Acting strange, not like he was before at all.” He had no reason to lie right now, so Star decided to believe him. “But he told us he will get better once you’re with him.”

She knew what Toffee meant by that. “He isn’t well at the moment, and yes, I can help with that.” She just didn’t know how, yet. She wanted to help Marco but had no idea how the only thing she knew was that they needed to keep Toffee’s finger away from him.

It was decided last night, once they planned out to break into teams. It was her mom that brought the topic up. “Now that we know what we will do tomorrow. We need to decide what to do with this.” She placed a little flask with Toffee’s finger inside on the table.

“You went through my closet?” Was the first thing Star thought as she saw the finger.

“Why is that so important right now?” Asked Hekapoo, this part was all unknown to her.

Moon answer quickly. “This finger will make him complete, but why does he need that in the first place I don't know.”

And Star added. “But is he wants it so badly, we can’t let him get his hands on it.” The finger was the first thing Toffee asked of Star once he took control of Marco’s body.

“The answer is obvious then, Queen Moon should keep it.” Once she got the attention of the other two ladies. “She is going to be pretty far away from our hunt. To a place, Toffee was no idea it exists.” Fair enough point, but Moon had to argue a bit.

“But it may be better he finds you with it than without.” A little concern she had. “I mean, in the case, Toffee finds you before you find him.” She didn’t want to imagine what he would do to the girls to get his finger back.

Star grabbed her hand and smiled. “Don’t worry about us. We can avoid danger till you get the Commission up and running. I promise we won’t do anything risky.” At least that put a smile on Moon’s face. They had their plan and their fail safes, they were confident and ready to end the threat once and for all.

Still, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. Hekapoo fought for what felt like hours against that army of beasts. She was able to not only keep them entertained but win against the threat. At the end of everything, she was the only creature standing in that clearing, exhausted, and covered in wounds. After she was able to recover her breath, she tried summoning more clones to aid her, but the fight left her without any magic power left.

Fully exhausted and with no time to rest, Hekapoo screamed to seemly nobody. “Come out of there already!” No one answered, but the girl was sure that somebody must be watching over her. “I know you’re out there!”

In front of her, a portal opened up and Toffee came out from the other side. She was expecting him to be watching from inside the tree line, but she soon realized why he could see her from wherever he was. Toffee was using his wand to summon the All-Seeing Eye in order to have a good look at the battlefield without having to face the danger.

Toffee dispelled the Eye and spoke directly to the girl. “That was entertaining. But to be honest, I’m a little disappointed at my troops.” He took a look at all the wolves littered around the area.

“You really thought they would defeat me?” She didn’t move from her spot.

“More like, tear you to shreds. Anyway, with you in one piece I can still take all your magic.” He approached the girl with care. Hekapoo could barely stand on her own two feet, that didn’t mean she won’t put up a fight before going down. As he got closer, Hekapoo fell to her knees and that put a smile on his face. Once he stopped in front of the girl. “Are you ready for this?” She didn’t answer, in fact, she looked about to pass out.

Toffee reached out to grab her head, but Hekapoo parried and counter him with a uppercut. Before Toffee could compose himself, he felt himself being pulled towards the girl by the collar of his hoodie. He braced himself for another punch or something, but Hekapoo was just using him for support in order to stand up. So this wasn’t a follow-up punch but a throw. Once he was ready to react and was about to free himself from her grip, Hekapoo brought him closer, but not to throw him away, but to bring him closer.

Now they were hugging in the middle of that battlefield, well, Hekapoo was doing most of it, Toffee was just frozen, loss of words and unable to react. “I’m sorry Marco. I wasn’t able to save you.” It was the sound of her words that snapped him back to reality. He missed no time freeing his right hand from the embrace and grabbing a hold of the girl, taking all of her remaining magic away.

With the girl falling down to the ground, lifeless, and her eyes nothing but black voids, Toffee had to take some minutes to recover. It wasn’t just the surprise at her actions or the words she spoke. Her word somehow reached Marco, and that was hitting him harder than he expected. Still, he knew he needed to push all those thoughts aside, there was still something he needed to take care of.

By now, Star had waited patiently for Marco to appear. But her patience was running out and she couldn’t waste any more time with this, besides, she hadn’t seen Hekapoo in a while and she was growing worried about her. Just when she was about to get up and run back to the camp, damn be the wolves that were looking after her, her mother emerged from the trees, looking quite distraught. “Mom!” She ran to her and hugged her mother. “What are you doing here?” She wasn’t expecting to see her until later.

“Star!” Queen Moon hugged her daughter tight. “Where is lady Hekapoo? We need to get out of here.”

“What, why?” She hasn’t even seen Toffee around. “We still haven’t found the hideout.”

“It’s the Sanctuary, Star, I don’t know how he is doing it, but Toffee has corrupted it. I couldn’t even revive the Commission.” It was clear for Star that her mother was panicking. It did sound like a serious threat, but Star couldn’t abandon the quest right now.

“Mom, I can’t go …” Before she could go on, her mother grabbed her hand and began dragging her away.

“We need to go!” Before they could walk further, the wolves got in their way. Not only were they angry, but ready to separate the two of them by any means necessary. “Are they friends of yours?” She, honestly, hadn’t noticed the wolves before, she was focused only on Star and getting her to a safe place.

“They are with Marco, well, Toffee. He told them to keep me here till he summoned me.” Before Moon could answer, a portal opened up near them, but no one came out. It just stood there.

One of the wolves spoke up. “That’s the boss. You need to go, he is waiting for you.”

But Moon pushed Star back, trying to protect her. “She isn’t going anywhere! Stay close to me, Star, I won’t let them take you.”

“Mom, it will take us directly to him, we need to confront him.” She couldn’t let this opportunity pass.

Moon took a good look at her daughter. That determined look on her face told her she wasn’t going to do what she wanted. This left her with only one option. “If you’re going, then, so do I.” She dragged Star to the portal, making sure to enter before Star in case this a trap. But then again, the wolves jumped in front of them.

“No! The girl goes alone.”

Hugging Star close to her now. “You won’t take me away from my daughter!” As soon as she said that, she was blindsided by a wolf jumped at her from behind, knocking her to the ground and pinning her in place.

“Mom!” Star approached her mother, trying to take the wolf out of her, but she was dragged away by the rest of them. “Mom, go to Ludo, he knows the way up the mountain.”

Once Star disappeared and the portal closed behind her, the wolves let Moon go and ran to the woods. Moon didn’t have the time to worry, she needed to find Ludo and Hekapoo right now.

The portal left Star on what looked like an old temple made of stone. She took a look around and noticed she was now on top of the mountain, it looked like it will take a while for her mom to reach her. Another thing she noticed was that she was alone right now, not even a noise could be heard, just the wind running through the lonely place.

With nothing else to do, Star decided to investigate the place. Apart from the rocks of corn littered around the place, there was nothing of importance in the lower floors. Going up to the upper floors revealed nothing out of the ordinary either. But she could hear a faint voice coming from somewhere, following that voice took her to the outside balconies overlooking the mountains. Out there it was easier to follow that faint voice, and she could finally recognize it as a familiar one. Walking around the corner revealed it was Glossarick singing while cooking some soup. Star ran to his side and spoke up. “Glossarick! Where is Marco?”

Not taking his eyes out of the soup. “I think he passed around here a few minutes ago.” He pointed at the doorway leading to the main bedroom. “Maybe he is in there, he goes there when he needs to rest.”

“Awesome!” But before she ran away.

“Star, before you go, maybe you should be careful.” He approached the girl and continued. “What if Toffee is trying to trick you?”

“But, what about Marco? He is counting on me to save him.”

“Yes, he is, but you can’t lower your guard and go in like that. At least have some soup so you don’t have to fight on an empty stomach.” He brought forward a spoonful of soup and placed it in front of the princess.

Star took the soup and spoke up. “By the way, my mom might swing by soon, tell her where I am.” And she walked inside, not sure what she will find inside.

Once inside the master bedroom, she walked slowly as to not be taken by surprise, and some faint sobs could be heard coming near the bed. That told her she could drop her guard, a little bit, and approached to take a better look. The sobs only became louder as she got closer until finally finding out the origin.

“Marco!” She ran to hug the boy, but as soon as he heard his name, Marco stood up and got away from her.

Placing his arms forward, trying to keep Star away, Marco said. “No, stop, don’t come any closer!” Star stopped in her tracks, confused as to why he would say that. “Please, I don’t want to hurt you.”

Star sputtered. “C’mon, Marco, you would never hurt me.” But the boy didn’t drop his hands. “I’m here to help you, trust me.”

Marco tried walking around the room, with his back glued to the wall. “It’s not you that I don’t trust, Star. I can’t trust myself right now, you have to go before I hurt you.” He saw Star about to open her mouth to argue. “No! You don’t get it! I have been having these weird blackouts and every time I wake up from them I get flashes of images inside my head…” He began stumbling around the room having a panic attack. “I see me, but I’m not moving on my own will, and I’m attacking you and the Commission, or talking with wolves…” His breathing began to speed up and he had difficulties thinking straight. “And look…!” He showed Star his right hand with the green crystal embedded to it.

“It’s not you, Marco, it’s Toffee. He is the one responsible for all of this.” It broke Star’s heart seeing him like this. “You need to let me take you to my mom, we can help.” Again, she reached out to him but Marco took a step back.

“No, just, leave me alone, if I stay here I can’t be a risk to anyone.” He turned around and ran inside the temple.

“Marco, wait!” And Star ran behind him.

Outside in the balcony, where Glossarick was loafing around, Ludo’s eagle came from down the mountain with a string of web in her mouth. The eagle tied the string around a sturdy enough rock and gave it a good tug. Some minutes later, Queen Moon climbed up, with Hekapoo’s body tied to her back, she looked exhausted but didn’t take the time to recover once she was there. “Glossarick!” She then yelled down the mountain. “Hurry up! We are here.”

Up came Ludo being carried by his spider. “Of course we are. But let us rest a little.” As soon as the Queen arrived at the camp, she began screaming orders at him as his minions. She did help them get to the hideout in record time, which is why they were all exhausted already.

Moon grabbed the blue man by his tunic and began shaking him for answers. “Glossarick, where’s Star? Where’s Toffee? Is she alright? Answer me!”

“My Queen, please, you’re shaking too hard.” Moon stopped and Glossarick took some seconds to recover. “I’ll tell you what happened.”

By now, Star was running after Marco in the lower levels of the temple. It was when Marco tripped on some debris that she was able to catch up to him. The girl threw herself at him and hugged him tight with no intention of letting go. Marco fought for some minutes but he wasn’t able to shake her off. Soon, he stopped struggling and stayed still.

They stayed like that for some time before Marco was calm enough to speak. He sat on his knees and Star did the same, she could tell he won’t try to run anymore. Now facing each other, they could speak freely. “You said Toffee is doing this, how?”

Star reached out to hold his right hand. “It’s the wand he is inside of it doing who knows what.”

“But, how? Last time we see him he was blown away by your wand exploding.” He had front rows seats to that, so he knew what he was talking. He quickly noticed how quiet the girl got after he said that like he was thinking at light speed now. “Star, what’s wrong?”

Snapping back to reality. “Listen, I might have an idea on what to do, but you gotta trust me.” She even shot him some reassuring eyes. Marco needed to know there was still hope.

Although reluctant, Marco decided to believe in Star. She has never let him down before. “What do you want me to do?”

“Just sit still and don’t move, no matter what you hear.” And she smiled at him. After receiving a smile back, Star held his right hand with her own and leaned closer.

Marco saw Star reciting the words for the Whispering Spell and quickly panicked. “Star, what are you doing?!” He knew what would happen once it was over and that Star won’t have enough time to find cover. “Stop it, you’re in the blast radius!” Once Star was finished and the little dead unicorn went away flying. “You need to run away, the explosion…”Before he could finish, Star brought him closer and kissed him on the lips. They stayed like that until the wand exploded, blowing up that part of the building and shaking the whole mountain.

Being so close to the explosion, Queen Moon and his little group were the first ones to feel the shock. “That sounds like Star needing help, you better run fast.” Glossarick said he had to hold his cauldron in place so it didn’t shake too much. He could only see a blur the Queen was moving that fast. With that taken care of, he directed to Ludo and his minions, fresh out of their rest but still scared at what happened. “Now guys, watch over the book for me while I’m gone.” He then picked up his cauldron full of soup and went inside the spell book, leaving a dumbfounded Ludo full of curiosity at what was happening.

Marco woke up from this blackout fairly fast. He could tell not much time have passed thanks to the position of the sun, although, it could have been next day, But he had no time to worry about that, he was now covered in a sticky substance and fully disoriented. His limbs were not responding and his ears were ringing, it was like an explosion occurred just at arm’s reach. Still, he powered through all that and looked around to investigate the surrounding… crater. He could see Star’s mom pressing the magic wand to a tall figure, maybe, he couldn’t tell, his eyes were still adjusting to the sunlight. Once his hearing came back, he could hear the Queen sobbing while looking at Star’s wand and the figure began to walk away. Now he had recovered enough to see who was that person was.

“Toffee!” Marco screamed and he stopped. After dragging himself close enough to Toffee. “Where is Star?!” He grabbed a hold of his ankle, trying to stop him from leaving.

The lizard gave Marco the side-eye and answered. “She is gone, Marco.”

Not wanting to believe his ears. “What…?” But he received no answer from him. “Don’t lie to me, where is she?!”

“I said she is gone!” He kicked Marco’s hand away after that.

Marco began to tear up after hearing that. He hit the ground and screamed at Toffee once more. “Don’t lie to me!” Toffee then began to walk away and Marco stood up, with some difficulties. “I’ll kill you, you hear me?! I’ll kill you if you don’t tell me where she is!” He tried to take a step forward but slipped on some of the black goo.

Toffee already had enough for today and didn’t want this teenager to cling onto him wanting the impossible. Approaching Marco, still flat on the ground, he kneeled down to talk directly to his ear. “Stop kidding yourself, you know she is gone but you don’t want to accept it.” Marco froze in place, only able to look at the ground and keep silence. “But I’ll tell you something.” He grabbed Marco by the back of his head and pulled him up so they could speak face to face. “All of this wouldn’t have been possible without you. So thank you, Marco, for making this happen.’ And then let him go, stood up, and continue on his way.

Now alone to his regrets, Marco screamed. He screamed so hard it could be heard throughout the mountain. The tears flowed like rivers and he began punching the ground in frustration. He had lost Star and couldn't do anything to prevent it.

All that screaming didn’t bother Toffee, he just walked away like nothing was happening. It was when the screaming stopped that he felt something wrong brewing. He turned around and was able to catch a portal closing up, just where Marco was a few minutes ago. That didn’t ease up his nerves, he put his guard up and got ready for something to happen. After some quick minutes of nothing coming after him, he got ready once again to leave.

But just as Toffee turned around to continue on his way, Marco appeared in front of him via portal. In those few seconds after he jumped out of the portal, Marco knee Toffee on the face, wrapped his chains around his body and slammed him so hard on the ground that he put some cracks on the stone floor. Marco retracted his chains and once Toffee was able to stand up, he pulled out his sword. Now donning his full hunter clothes and equipment, his tonics strapped to his belt, and still furious at Toffee, Marco was ready to end his enemy. “You better put up a good fight, I don’t like my hunts to be boring.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when Star used kittens and squirrels to make an army of beasts? Also, I imagined that Toffee being at a disadvantage he will use the book and his magic in a more indirect manner. Still, I couldn't imagine Hekapoo not winning that fight, but maybe that's my inner fan talking.


	14. Marco Diaz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait there, so much work to tend to. This one is so short, but I do have a reason for that. With the hiatus almost over I was thinking about letting this fic complete for now and then updating it as the series continued. But I still tried to bookend this fic as best as possible.

Queen Moon was witnessing a, pretty one-sided, battle. Marco began the fight using his sword, keeping Toffee on the ropes with his speed and movements, it did help that Toffee wasn’t armed at the moment. But all the wounds inflicted on his enemy were cuts, which Toffee was quick to heal, and Marco was quicker to reopen, even his suit will soon become mere rags.

But no matter how great Marco was holding up at the moment, Moon knew it was only a matter of time until he tired up and Toffee got the upper hand. The boy didn’t seem to have anything that will put the lizard down for good. She needed to separate the two, break the fight and go back to the castle with Marco.

Once the combatants were close enough for her to try and grab Marco, the boy kicked his opponent hard enough to push him into the undamaged side of the temple, a little tower with one whole side missing that was still standing after the explosion. Toffee slipped away into the ruins, climbing up the tower, and Marco ran behind him, using his magic jacket to jump near him.

Marco found out as soon as he landed that Toffee was hiding in between the rubble and shadows. Keeping his guard and sword up, he walked slowly to try and spot him. “What is it, Toffee? Too scared to fight already!” As soon as he finished, Toffee surprised him with an attack from above. Marco was able to block it and stand his ground, not letting himself being pinned down under Toffee’s weight. Some seconds of struggling later, Marco was able to throw him away. “You really thought that would work?”

Composing himself. “Not at all. I just wanted to even the odds.” Toffee showed Marco the battle bracers that Marco bought at Quest Buy. He had snapped the leather wrists in order to take them off and missed no time turning them into a pair of sickle-swords. “I thought there was no honor fighting an unarmed enemy.”

Now even more furious at what happened. “Don’t expect that to help you.” Marco threw himself at Toffee and they crossed swords. Now armed, Toffee was able to stand his ground against Marco. The teenager went into full attack mode, trying to hit from several sides too quick so that Toffee couldn’t defend against him. But Toffee had more than enough skill to dodge and parry all of his attacks, and with the extra weapon at his disposal he was able to counterattack fast enough to push Marco to back off and keep his distance, it was either that to risking a blow to the head.

The fact that Marco was now on the defense didn’t mean he was out already, it just meant he needed to change tactics. With a little bit of dexterity, Marco began using his sword on the right hand and summoned his left hand’s chain to use as a whip. It gave him the range advantage but it was obvious that the damage wasn’t strong enough to be effective. Getting a new idea, Marco positioned himself, and Toffee, in front of a crumbling pillar and swung his left chain around the pillar and trapping Toffee’s left hand by his forearm. The movement caught Toffee by surprised but before he could break free Marco swung his right chain around the pillar and trapped his remaining free hand. Now trapped like this, every time Toffee tried to reach Marco the pillar loosen up even more, and every step Marco took back only helped. Soon enough, the pillar began to fall down, leaving Toffee mere seconds of reaction time before being crushed. Thinking at lightning speed Toffee threw his swords to the side and bit both arms off by the elbow.

The backlash of Toffee breaking free pushed Marco back far enough for him to be safe of the pillar. He now had seconds before Toffee grew his arms back to think of another plan. Toffee was now kneeling up and his stumps were already moving and reforming and Marco couldn’t think of anything else to do at the moment. Using the chains once more, Marco managed to grab Toffee by the neck and strapped the chains tight so he couldn’t escape. The next step was obvious, he needed to jump high in order to hang him properly.

Marco maneuvered around the ruins while climbing up several floors. Finding a solid enough rock to swing the chains around, Marco jumped back down in one go, bringing Toffee up by the neck. This drove Toffee to panic from the moment he felt the chains yanking him up and he couldn’t feel the ground anymore. As Marco went down, faster and faster by the second, Toffee couldn’t think of a way to free himself right now, maybe if he hadn’t thrown his weapons away. But as soon as Marco hit the ground, he knew something was wrong, he could tell but the loud breaking sound and pain he felt on his right leg.

Checking his leg revealed that it was broken, it was a pretty long fall he took. But how was that possible? He was wearing Hekapoo’s enchanted jacket right now, hundreds of falls he had taken before and every single one of them was followed by a perfect landing. Why did it have to fail like this right now? Just when he was sure Toffee was done for. Seconds later after his discovery, Toffee landed near him, the shock Marco received thanks to the pain made him loosen up the chains.

After a quick recovery and while rubbing his neck, Toffee approached Marco and said. “It appears your wings got ripped off.” Marco stood up as best he could and tried to look for his sword but the thing was too far away for him to reach, especially with a broken leg, at least Toffee was also unarmed. Toffee took his stance and got ready to continue fighting. “Why don’t we solve this the old fashion way?” And he took a jab at Marco, decking him right on the face hard enough for him to stumble backward.

With Marco injured, the best he could do was take his attacks. Sure, he tried to block them or counter-attack from time to time, but Toffee always parried his attacks away or was able to push past his defense. The lizard knew to center his attacks around the head, knowing that even without magic Marco’s jacket was still as good as armor. Once Marco got the hang of fighting with an injured leg, he began doing better by sticking to fists and dodging. Not good enough to push Toffee away though, the lizard was mostly playing with the teenager at the moment, once he saw an opening, Toffee took a step back and hit Marco in the face with his tail. The blow stunned Marco, he could even feel some teeth loosen up, and the boy fall down to his knees.

Toffee laughed at the wounded boy. “You really thought you had a chance, boy?” He approached Marco, still kneeling down, and punched him in the face once more. “Setting aside my extra years of experience, I’m faster and more skilled than you.” Marco looked up and jumped back, dodging Toffee’s next attack in the process, but Toffee took a step forward and landed the follow-up. Marco was now looking to the ground, too stunned to stand up or fight back. “Not counting I’m far stronger than you.” He threw his next attack, ready to knock the teenager out, but his fist was stopped by Marco’s hand.

A little empty flask fall to the ground and Marco clenched Toffee’s fist so hard he broke some fingers there. “Not anymore.” Marco pulled Toffee close enough for him to backhand Toffee on the face with so much force he sent his lower jaw flying off his head and leaving a shocked expression behind.

With no time to process the pain, and unable to scream from it, Toffee jumped backward to escape his opponent. Marco stayed close to him not letting Toffee give him the slip, to add extra weight to his fist he strapped his chains around his arms. No matter what Toffee used for cover or to put in between the two, mostly debris and rocks, Marco broke it down with little effort. The pain of his broken leg was long gone and Toffee’s attacks didn’t have effect anymore, the only concern now was to keep the fight in hand to hand combat until he was able to grab his opponent. There was no other way he could think to kill Toffee at the moment, Marco wasn’t able to think clearly at the moment and the only plan he could think of was tearing Toffee to pieces.

In between dodging Marco’s attacks and observing his movements, Toffee managed to figure out a good enough strategy. That strategy mainly went for the leg. Even if Marco didn’t detect pain at the moment, that didn’t mean the damage won’t pile up. All that running away wasn’t just to keep his distance either, Toffee knew it was just a matter of time for Marco’s broken leg to give up. Why not speed up the process by dealing blows to it every time he could? He still needed to throw in several attacks to different areas though, just so that Marco doesn’t catch on what he was doing.

That plan was bearing unexpected fruits already, Marco was getting more and more pissed off the more Toffee managed to dodge his attacks and those blows, although ineffective, were quite annoying too. But they didn’t stay like that for much longer, Marco was quick on predicting his opponent’s moves and took a hold of Toffee’s left arm, grabbing him by the forearm. As Toffee moved to push Marco away, the teenager grabbed a hold of his right arm, and tighten his grip, ready to rip his arms off. Not giving up, Toffee went for the face, moving mostly by instinct he tried to bite Marco’s face off but the boy was quick to move, losing only his right ear.

Marco missed no time twisting Toffee’s arms off by the elbows while the lizard kicked him in his bad knee hard enough for them to separate. Tearing his arms off and bending Marco’s knee the wrong way in the process. But Marco didn’t need that leg to continue, he launched himself at Toffee and pinned him to the ground. He now had him where he wanted, at arm’s reach and with no way to defend himself. Marco missed no time putting his ‘plan’ in motion, he began with Toffee’s arms, that were beginning to reform. He moved on to Toffee’s guts, punching right clean through his skin and taking out everything he could grab a hold of, maybe if he could overload Toffee’s regeneration he could cut him in tiny enough pieces that won’t grow back. But that line of thinking could just be the rage that was burning inside of him.

He tore Toffee’s arms off whenever they needed to, which wasn’t often now that he had moved up to his upper torso. Marco needed only to pull the ribs open to get a clearer view of the inner organs. But before he could go down to business, Toffee tried biting his hands off. Marco caught his mouth and broke the jaw in one go so he couldn’t try that again, he was already having trouble hearing from the ear he bit off some seconds earlier. Back again to his open torso, Marco began taking out everything that squirmed inside of Toffee. He ripped out every organ that looked important, heard the muffled screams and grunts Toffee let out, and could feel his own blood boiling as Toffee stopped moving. Just to make sure everything was done, Marco flattened Toffee’s head with his fists, he punched him so hard that he was pretty much cracking the stone floor by the end.

Sure he was done with the threat, Marco took a deep breath and then exhaled loudly. He couldn’t move his right leg at the moment so he stayed there on the ground. Taking a good look at his hands he noticed they were covered in blood, not only Toffee’s blood but his own as well, he was that close to breaking his own hands hitting the floor. That and the effects of his tonic hadn’t worn off yet, his heart was still beating like crazy and, even with some piece of mind, he only saw red at the moment.

Once again, Marco took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Only for Toffee to reach his throat and crush it tight. Not letting the boy react, Toffee reached out to Marco’s belt and pulled out the smallest flask with clear liquid. He grabbed Marco by the jaw and force fed him the antidote. “There, Marco, drink your medicine.” After he made sure Marco took all the liquid, he kicked him away and focused on regenerating his missing organs. That didn’t take long and Toffee was quickly up and running once again, his clothes were shredded and his once pants were only rags now, and he sure was exhausted after recovering from that much damage.

Not having any of that, and knowing he needed to keep the attacks coming, Marco took out his fire-breathing tonic. Toffee saw and ran over to him in order to stop him from taking it. Unable to reach Marco fast enough, Toffee duck to avoid the first fire barrage, then jump to the side and behind cover. Marco couldn’t move away from that spot on the floor, but he could use his chains to try and flush his opponent out. He tried summoning his chains but nothing came out, another piece of magic equipment that wasn’t working anymore.

With Toffee still dead center on getting close to him, Marco had to think fast. He was moving from behind cover but Marco was in the middle of the room with enough open space around him, so Toffee would have to come out of cover soon enough. With his fire breath close to running out, Marco drank two extra potions to give him extra time.

First time Marco ever did this, he had heard this will make his fire even stronger but will halve the effective time of the tonic, that and the side effects will be worse but not enough to kill him. Although, he may have underestimated how much fire he was going to be breathing, so much he couldn’t contain it and began spitting fireballs like crazy. Toffee did his best to avoid getting hit, moving up and down, from cover to cover, he just needed the perfect opportunity to end Marco with one blow, he was able to get close enough to him but was waiting for Marco to drop his guard. But Marco knew he needed to keep it down long enough for a clear shot, doing just that, he waited long enough for Toffee to feel comfortable and run out of cover and rush to his position.

Unable to hold the fire in any longer, and not needing to do it either, Marco let out the biggest flame he had. It hit Toffee face first and it didn’t stop with just that, the fire engulfed him and everything around him, good thing the place was made out of stone. At first, he tried to push past all the fire, his regeneration tanked the damage quite efficiently, in the beginning, but Marco’s fire pushed so hard and it burned so strong he would be surprised if the stone didn’t melt. Soon enough, Toffee couldn’t advance anymore and his body began to give up not long after that.

Stopping for air, and finally running out of fireballs to throw, Marco piped down and took a look at the charred Toffee. His legs were too damaged to do anything more than to keep him standing, with most of his upper torso crumbling away in ashes, and his eyes shut thanks to the melted skin. One more shot, just one more, it was all Marco needed to end Toffee where he stood. The boy could already feel another fire building up in his gut, he only needed to take a deep breath and shoot it out. But to his surprise, no fire came out, only blood and a lot of it. All that fire brewing from his stomach wasn’t good for his innards, and he had no antidote left to ease the effects. Good thing that after puking all that blood nothing more came out, although that didn’t mean he was clear of any internal wounds, and Toffee wasn’t in front of him anymore. What?!

Toffee slipped away from him when he began puking, he must have. After he realized this, the lizard man dropkicked him, with part of his body still charred but healing fast. Toffee took Marco by the jacket and slammed him on the ground before kicking him on the broken leg and throwing him away. It didn’t take long for the rest of his wounds to heal after that, and Marco was in so much pain at the moment that he couldn’t stop screaming.

But one thing was clear for Toffee, all of that hurt. It hurt like hell. Marco was now screaming at top lung, he couldn’t brush away the broken leg and inner burns anymore. Toffee took a broken slab from the floor and approached the teenager. Without warning, he dropped the stone slab on Marco’s back. With Marco lying face down, Toffee kneeled beside him and grabbed the back of his head pulling him up. “I’ll be honest with you, Marco.” He slammed Marco’s face to the ground and pulled him up again. “That hurt.” And he did it again, and again, and again. “That. Really. Hurt.” He went like that, amping up the rhythm and he went along, not showing any emotion in his face other than calm rage. He only stopped after he heard something break. Checking on the boy revealed that he passed out and was breathing rather weak.

Deeming the whole situation over, Toffee left Marco on the floor and started looking for the swords they threw away earlier, he needed to finish his opponent off, he wouldn’t stop feeling uneasy unless he did that. The battle bracers he took from Marco won’t work, they turned back to normal and he wasn’t able to change them like before. Then he spotted Marco’s sword and made a straight line for it. As he picked it up, he could hear Marco moving behind him, he turned around and saw the boy standing up in place as best he could. Marco chuckled while struggling to stand still. “Finally got tired of taking bites out of me?” His face was bloodied from his wounds and black eyes and he still managed to mock Toffee.

Approaching Marco, but keeping him at sword’s reach, Toffee stared him down for a moment. Marco tried to summon his magic shield from his belt buckle but nothing came out, he should have imagined it with everything magic not working at the moment. “Ran out of tricks?”

Not appreciating the banter, when it didn’t come from him. “Maybe, you shouldn’t approach me so freely.”

“Believe me, I am not.” Toffee brandished the sword and placed it on Marco’s neck, the boy could feel the steel close enough to know he shouldn’t move. “You think Hekapoo ever imagined it will be her sword that kills you?”

After he finished saying that, Marco pushed the sword away and used his only good leg to jump directly at Toffee, fist up front. Toffee met his attack with jaws open, he trapped Marco’s arm to the elbow and was ready to bite it off, that one wasn’t going to grow up. But before he could do that, Toffee felt something running down his throat and he spat Marco’s arm out. It was then that Marco showed him the flasks he was carrying in his hand, all of them empty now.

A little magic cocktail full of poison, maybe this will finally do the trick. “You like that! And I’m all out of antidote, and you out of luck.” Not wanting to stay there any longer, he only grabbed the flasks blindly so even he didn’t know what Toffee just took, Marco sheathed his sword and used it to limp away as fast as possible. Seeing Marco running away Toffee followed him close, his stomach was burning and his head spinning like crazy, but even like that, Marco was moving with a limp so he caught up to him fast enough. He grabbed a hold of Marco’s arm but the boy was quick on the sword work and cut Toffee’s arm off. The two of them saw the stump growing back up but it was all wrong. It seemed that bone grew first and the flesh was falling off as it regenerated, not only that, the bone began to grow up like normal but soon branched off like it wanted to grow a second hand on the same wrist, with some extra fingers too.

Looking at the turn of events, Marco chop Toffee’s right leg off, making the lizard hit the floor, and Marco took the opportunity to run away, it seemed like this was a matter of time, he needed to survive long enough for Toffee to succumb to the poison. Now with his leg bones growing back all twisted, Toffee had to crawl to reach the boy. Toffee pushed through the burning feeling he felt in his guts, his brain trying to push out of his skull, and losing all sensation from the neck down until he finally stood up and launched himself at the boy.

The two of them rolled on the ground for several seconds and ended up back outside. They fall down some of the debris and Toffee was able to pin Marco to the ground. Toffee began slamming Marco on the floor, he had bloodshot, bleeding, eyes at the moment, and got so mad from the tonics that he looked ready to tear the boy to pieces with his fangs. Worse of all, Marco couldn’t do anything to defend himself anymore, all his equipment was useless and he lost his sword on that fall, the pain already took too much out of him, and he was exhausted. The only thing he was able to do was dodge Toffee bites at such a short distance, but he knew that wouldn’t last. Too bad, he was hoping to at least survive long enough to see Toffee die.

Just as Marco was ready to give up, something new caught his attention and that of Toffee too. It was a bright light at first, but they could also see a silhouette in the middle of it. Once the light faded away, they could see that it was Star, although a bit different from her normal looks. It was like she entered her mewberty form, just golden this time, it was like the sun and none of them could believe what they were seeing.

Marco used the confusion to slip away from beneath Toffee and crawl away to safety. In the nick of time as Star used her, newly repaired, wand to reduce Toffee to nothing. That was it for the lizard man, in just a matter of seconds, Star did what it took Marco a leg, an ear, a perfectly healthy skull, several inner burns, some pints of blood and all his tonics NOT to finish. It would have made him feel like an idiot, but actually, Marco couldn’t help but laugh at that. He laughed loud enough that Star and Queen Moon heard him all the way down in the crater.

“Marco!” As soon as he heard Star calling out his name he rushed, crawling, towards her. The teenagers met midway and Star fell to her knees and checked on Marco, he moved him all over to see all his wounds and began grown fearful by the second. “We need to rush you back home!”

But Marco brought Star closer to a hug. Even with the girl pulling him up and trying to make them move to her mother, Marco didn’t break the hug, it didn’t matter how much pain he was right now. “I thought I lost you.”

“I’m sorry about that, but we have to go we can talk later.” It was understandable that he was so surprised, and relieved, but they needed to tend to his wounds fast.

Not letting go of her. “Star, you were gone, and it was my fault.”

Finally getting some help from her mother, Star was able to move Marco away from the ruins. “Don’t say that it’s not your fault.” But they didn’t get too far before hearing Toffee’s scream and seeing the lizard crawl to them.

It looked like Toffee was a mere skeleton covered in some dark liquid. They couldn’t understand much of what he was saying but that didn’t matter, from out of the top of the ruins dell down a huge cauldron full of soup. The soup covered Toffee first and then the metal cauldron on top of him, crushing him underneath. “Nice aim, Ludo, now throw that rock over there.” It was Glossarick giving orders to Ludo and his minions. The three of them made quick work of Toffee, dropping the rock on top of him as commanded, but the shockwave also made some of the ruins fall on that spot, burying the lizard underneath them.

With all of that dealt with, Star and Moon took another look at Marco and saw him struggling to stay awake. “He has a pair of scissors, right?” Moon reached into his jacket and pulled out Marco’s scissors. They opened a portal to Glossarick’s position and met with the blue man. “Glossarick, we are going back home.” She checked on Hekapoo’s body and carried her back to Star.

“Finally! I’m tired of this place, it was a huge hole in the wall.” He made the book levitate and float close to the group.

“Hey, what about us!?” Ludo was referring to his gang and himself. He ended up with no wand, hideout, army, and didn’t want to be left out in this place.

Star looked at her mother and they decided on what to do. Moon opened up another portal. “You can come with us, but don’t get any weird ideas.” They didn’t know if they could trust him, but he did help them so they couldn’t let him there. Not that it mattered to Marco, the boy passed out after their little talk with Glossarick. Marco stayed like that for a long while, but it was better that way, it gave Moon and Star the opportunity to deal with his injuries back in the castle.

But Moon had to rush the medical treatment, focusing only on his most serious wounds. “Star, I need to go check on the Magic Commission, so look after him while I’m away.” She was preparing Hekapoo’s body for the trip and didn’t let Star protest. “I healed most of his wounds already, the rest can wait till I come back.” They worked hard on healing his body, the inner burns were the first to go along with the broken skull. But the broken leg had to be left on a cast, up to the knee, and the missing ear bandaged. Star could try and work her magic but didn’t want to risk it, maybe she would help with the black eyes but she would have to wait for Marco to woke up to ask him. “I promise it won’t take long.” Brandishing her own scissors, but not opening a portal yet, the Queen approached Star and hugged her tight. “I’m glad you’re ok.” After that goodbye, she left the via portal, leaving Star alone with Marco.

Without much to do now, she could go downstairs and join her dad on the celebrations, but she didn’t felt in the mood to party, not with Marco in that state, Star decided to sit down next to the bed and wait for Marco to wake up. Out from the corner of the room, Glossarick came out of the spell book to speak with Star. He saw Star sitting by the bed and Marco sleeping and looking better than before.

Glossarick approached the princess and spoke. “So, I guess Marco is going to be alright?”

Star let out a small sigh and answered. “Yeah… I guess that fight was too much for him.” And she couldn’t hide her sadness.

“Mmmm… I’ll say he was too much for Toffee, actually.” He knew that wasn’t going to cheer the Princess up. “By the way, can I take a look at your new wand?” Star did as asked and Glossarick began inspecting the wand. “Don’t you have burns? That was some awfully hot soup you dip your arms into.”

Star knew what she was talking about. It was while they were inside that well of magic, which she still didn’t understand what entirely. “Well, I’m all fine… So is Toffee really dealt with? No more bad people trying to hurt us out there?”

Giving the wand back to Star. “Maybe, maybe not, but you should know by now that there will always be something out there trying to stir trouble.” That didn’t ease Star’s mind in the slightest, she only looked at Marco with worried eyes. “By the way, I pick up something back in the ruins, can I leave it with you?” He reached into his tunic and pulled out Marco’s red hoodie, handing it over to Star.

“Thank you, where are you going?” She took the hoodie and put it on, it did comfort her a little.

“I don’t know if you can hear it, but your dad is throwing a huge party downstairs, I’ll swing around for some time. You’ll be fine here?”

Already making herself comfortable in that chair. “Sure, maybe we'll swing by if Marco feels like it.” They said their goodbyes and Glossarick left the princess alone.

Time passed and Marco finally awoke in that room. A little dizzy and confused but that was to be expected after that fight. He already felt better than before, or at least didn’t feel any more pain at the moment, and was quick to notice his leg cast and his bruise up hands. There was also Star kneeling by the bed, with her head buried on the bed and sleeping soundly, she was also wearing his hoodie which he found was so cute and funny.

The boy sat up on the border and shook Star awake. With some snores and cleaning her drool, Star awoke, a bit startled but that was it. The princess stood up and hugged Marco so hard they almost felt on the bed, and she also bumped him on his bad leg, which he expressed loudly. Star broke the hug at that. “Sorry, sorry. I’m just…”

But Marco didn’t care and brought Star closer to continue the hug. “Don’t worry about that.” They stayed like for a while, just hugging in silence and with huge smiles on their faces. Once they separated, without breaking the hug, Marco took a quick look at Star. “Are you alright? You didn’t get hurt during all of that, right?”

“Me? You should see yourself.” Star summoned a little mirror for Marco to see what she was talking about. “You took quite a beating but my mom and I patched you up.”

He could see his bruised face along with the gauze over his missing ear. But he was alive and without pain. “Well, you did an awesome work there.”

“As soon as my mom is back we will fix your ear and leg, so don’t get too used to the cast.” Star smiled at him as she said that, and Marco chuckled too.

They separated and Star sat beside him, not really having anything more to say to the other. Well, Marco could think of something that was eating him on the inside. He grabbed a hold of Star’s hand and couldn’t look up like he was embarrassed. “Star… I’m sorry. Everything that happened was all my fault.”

“That’s not true. It was all Toffee, there was nothing you could have done to stop it.” She grabbed his hand with both of her hands, trying to make him look at her in the eyes.

Still looking down. “Maybe there was, maybe I wasn’t strong enough to…”

“No!” She took Marco’s head and lifted it up, finally meeting him eye to eye. “I won’t let you blame yourself for all of this. There was nothing anyone could have done and nobody blames you for what happened.” Her emotions got to the point that she was tearing up and Marco did the same once he saw Star so worried about him.

Not able to hold it anymore, Marco began to cry. “I thought you were dead Star… I’m so glad I can be here with you.”

It was Star that kissed him, she felt like Marco was still having a hard time believing all of this so this was the best thing she could think of to ease his mind. After some seconds of kissing, they broke it up and began laughing, no more tears on their faces. Marco kissed her again just for the hell of it. Once they were satisfied, Star spoke up. “You want to go downstairs? Everybody is having a blast out there.”

Giving it a quick thought. “Can’t we stay here for a while longer?” With that broken leg, he knew he will be sitting around and that Star would keep him company without doing much else. That and, he was in his underwear now, no other way of putting the cast over his leg. “I mean, how long would it take your mom to come back?”

Smiling at his request, Star didn’t really mind having some extra time alone with Marco, she answered. “I’m sure we still have some time before she comes back, and I don’t want to do something you don’t want right now.” She helped Marco lay down and rest his head on her lap. “Besides, you need to rest right now.”

Marco smiled while Star began stroking his hair. It was just the two of them in that room and the two of them locked eyes, not wanting to look away and hoping this moment could last forever. In the middle of that little moment. “I love you, Star.”

“And I love you too.” Now it was the perfect moment for the teenagers. They had each other and couldn’t wish for anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you like me to continue this fic? Tell me in the comments, and thank you for reading and following me this whole time!


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